International+Negotiations Teacher'sNotes PDF

Professional English
International
Negotiations
Trainer’s Notes
Jeremy Day
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International
Negotiations
Trainer’s Notes
Introduction
Welcome to the International Negotiations Trainer’s Notes. In these notes you will find
advice on the following:
• Timing: how long each module should take, to help you plan your schedule.
• Group dynamics: what to do if you have a very large group, an odd number of students or
a single one-to-one student.
• Resources: how to make the most of the support resources available in the book and online.
• Technology: how to use technology (e.g. video cameras, the Internet) to enhance
the course.
• Feedback: how to support trainees in their development as negotiators.
• Final thoughts: my own advice to negotiators and their trainers.
Timing
International Negotiations has been designed to allow plenty of flexibility in terms of teaching
times. Most modules (e.g. Module 1) consist of two parts (e.g. 1A and 1B). Modules 3 and 10,
which look at the opening and closing stages of the negotiation, contain one part each, while
Module 7 and 8, which cover the broader skills of bargaining and persuasion, consist of three
parts each. The coursebook includes an introductory module, Developing negotiation skills,
and a major negotiation role play (The East Africa Tender) to be found on the course website
(www.cambridge.org/elt/internationalnegotiations) completes the course, making a total of
22 module parts.
It would be possible to cover each module part in a 45-minute session, giving a minimum
course length of around 18–20 hours of input. However, it is vital that this input time should
be balanced with plenty of opportunity for trainees to conduct negotiations and to give and
receive feedback on their negotiating techniques (see Feedback on page 3), so an ideal
course length would be at least 36 hours.
The suggestions for additional activities throughout these Trainer’s Notes enable trainers
to expand each module to 60 or even 90 minutes. These activities also provide additional
flexibility to help teachers shorten or lengthen input in order to adhere to a timetable, if
necessary.
Of course, this schedule will depend on the size of your group and the amount of time you
have available.
The whole course can take place in the classroom, with no need for trainees to prepare for
the role plays at home. In-class preparation time is built into these notes. This means that you
do not need to keep to a tight schedule (e.g. one module per lesson) – if you finish a module
before the end of a lesson, you can simply start the next one. If a module is taking longer than
planned, you can allow it to continue into the next lesson.
Most modules end with a case study, role play or game to practise the language and skills
from that module. It is vital to allow plenty of time for these final activities, including
feedback. If you find you have only ten minutes of class time at the end of a lesson for a
final activity, it would be better to save the final activity for the next lesson, in order to do it
properly, and to start the new module instead.
It is not essential that you work through the modules in numerical order, although this would
be the most logical order: the order of the modules in the book closely follows the order of
events in a real-life negotiation. However you organise the course, you should begin with
Developing negotiation skills and Module 1.
2 International Negotiations Trainer’s Notes © Cambridge University Press 2012 Photocopiable

www.cambridge.org/elt/internationalnegotiations
Introduction
Group dynamics
If you have an odd number of students, most pair work activities will work just as well in
groups of three. Where activities are designed for pairs (e.g. information exchange exercises
and games), the Trainer’s Notes provide specific guidance for adapting the activity to groups
of three.
In one-to-one situations, you will have to play one of the roles in role plays or information
exchange activities. Where a role play has two different roles, obviously your student should
always take the role that best practises the language and skills presented in that module.
Resources
A key part of this course is the extensive Key and commentary, which is much fuller than
in traditional coursebooks. Some suggestions have been made in the Trainer’s Notes for
exploiting the Key and commentary as, say, a reading comprehension or discussion, but it is a
good idea to make sure both you and your trainees read and discuss the Key and commentary
for every exercise.
Note also the two CDs included with the course. Encourage trainees to listen to the
recordings again at home and to practise the techniques they demonstrate. However, make
sure they realise that by listening to recordings before they are covered in class, they may
undermine the effectiveness of the lessons. For example, some sections may start with a
brainstorm activity and then trainees listen to compare with their own ideas. If they have
already listened at home, it may make them less creative in the brainstorm – they will
produce the ‘correct’ answers, but not necessarily the most creative answers that they could
otherwise come up with.
The same is true of the audio scripts, which should be analysed in class and re-read at home
(perhaps while listening to the CDs), but which should not be read ahead of lessons.
The course website (www.cambridge.org/elt/internationalnegotiations) contains the final
negotiation role play (The East Africa Tender), along with full-size versions of the game boards
and feedback forms for each module that are provided in the coursebook.
Technology
The course will work best if you have access to some or all of the following:
• a video camera, to record the role play negotiations. If you don’t have access to video
facilities, a cassette recorder or MP3 recorder would be useful. Recordings allow you to
draw attention to very specific or subtle problems (or strengths) that you might otherwise
miss. Seeing or hearing yourself negotiate can be much more vivid and useful than simply
receiving feedback. If you keep recordings from the beginning of the course, it will be
possible to demonstrate clear progress, which can be hugely motivating for trainees.
• a means of playing back your recordings (e.g. a TV or data projector). Failing that, you could
make copies of your recordings for trainees to watch at home.
Feedback
This is a crucial part of the course. It can be difficult to give feedback, especially to weaker
negotiators, but trainers need to get this part of the course right. If feedback is too positive,
it doesn’t help trainees improve. If it is too negative, it can be demotivating and may add to
trainees’ stress levels. For this reason, the feedback forms from the website (www.cambridge.
org/elt/internationalnegotiations) should always be used, as they allow you to focus on the
target language and techniques as objectively as possible.
A simple but effective way of giving feedback is to ‘sandwich’ the criticism between positive
feedback (e.g. The presentation of your proposal was very effective – you really made sure
everything was clear. You were a bit too active during the counter-proposal, though – don’t
forget, it’s better to sit back and listen carefully, rather than interrupting at this stage.
But overall, I think you’re really improving and I’m looking forward to seeing your next
negotiation.) Criticism always needs to be constructive: discuss with the trainee (and perhaps
the whole class) how they can overcome the problem in future.

Introduction
Peer feedback is also very useful: trainees comment on each other’s negotiating skills. Again,
this can be difficult to do sensitively, and you will need to manage such sessions carefully to
avoid unpleasant situations, but it can be extremely useful for both the negotiator and the
person giving feedback.
The online feedback forms should be used for peer feedback, as they allow everyone to focus
on the target language and techniques. For this reason, before any role play, make sure every
trainee has enough copies of the feedback form, and that they know exactly how to fill the
form in. Afterwards, they use the feedback forms to offer feedback to each other. Note that
the score out of ten can be separated from the main form. This allows you to keep records
and therefore to measure improvements.
If you have video or audio recording facilities, feedback can be extremely detailed. This may
be rather time-consuming, especially if you have a large class, but is well worth doing from
time to time. With larger classes, you could show and analyse only selected highlights from
recorded negotiations in class.
Final thoughts
I’ve never thought of myself as a great negotiator. I remember two separate occasions when
I was teaching negotiation skills in one-to-one classes to senior executives who were not
professional negotiators. When it came to the role plays, on both occasions, the executive
completely dominated the negotiation and left me feeling humiliated and beaten.
Since those days, I’ve learned three important lessons about negotiating. Firstly, that
humiliating and beating your opponent is actually a very shallow victory. If you want to build
lasting business relationships, it’s much better to leave your opponent feeling good about the
negotiation. Whenever I have trained professional negotiators, they have always stressed the
importance of relationship-building as a vital and difficult skill in a negotiation. So perhaps I’m
actually a better negotiator than I thought.
Secondly, negotiation techniques can be learned. Two of my favourite books are Influence:
Science and Practice by Robert Cialdini, and Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher and William
Ury. Both books have a prominent place in this book – the former in Module 8B, the latter
in Module 6A. If you are serious about training negotiators, I recommend that you read the
books in full, together with Yes! 50 secrets from the science of persuasion, by Noah Goldstein,
Steve Martin and Robert Cialdini.
Finally, there are important differences between negotiating with people who speak your
own language and negotiating with speakers of other languages. I remember once trying to
explain to a group of Polish negotiators the subtle difference between What if we double
the price? and What if we doubled the price? One of my trainees pointed out to me that
this type of distinction is meaningless in real life: he’d interpret both questions as We’re
considering doubling the price. In other words, you can include all sorts of subtlety in what
you say, but the only really important thing is what the other person hears.
There’s a lot more to negotiating than correct use of conditionals – as you’ll discover as you
work through International Negotiations. Good luck!
Jeremy Day

International
Negotiations
Trainer’s Notes
Developing negotiation skills
Use your first session to get to know your trainees and to focus on their experiences as a
negotiator, their needs and their expectations from the course. Ideally, you should also do this
with each trainee individually before the course, but it is still worth using this first session to
help your trainees get to know each other, and to identify shared needs. It is vital that trainees
know and trust each other, as they will have to conduct many simulated negotiations during
the course and also give feedback on each other’s skills.
Extension activity
Draw the following table on the board. Trainees work alone to make notes about a
negotiation they have taken part in. It could be work-related or from their private lives,
or they could invent the details if they have not yet taken part in any negotiations, and
base their ideas on the types of negotiations that they may take part in at some point
in their future careers. They do not need to complete all the information; the boxes are
just there to generate ideas. After a few minutes, they work in small groups to talk about
their negotiations. Encourage them to ask each other questions about the negotiations.
Afterwards, discuss the most interesting stories with the class.
I was representing ...

I was negotiating against ...
My aim was ...
Their aim was ...
The negotiation went well/badly/ ...
because ...
At the end of the negotiation, ...
Afterwards, ...
I learned that ...
Quote
Go through the quote sentence by sentence to generate a class discussion. You could use
these questions to focus trainees’ attention on each sentence.
1 What does the art of letting the other person have it your way mean?
2 What is the answer to the question in the second sentence?
3 Why is there a conflict between short-term victories and long-term relationships?
4 Why must both sides believe that they have gained?
5 Do you agree that no skill is more central to your professional career?
6 Do you agree with Dr Karrass’s assessment?

Suggested answers
1 The art is in making the other person believe you are allowing them to get what they
want, when in fact you are getting what you want.
2 Yes, it is certainly possible, but it is not easy.
3 If you destroy your opponent in a negotiation, they will not want to do business with
you again.
4 So that they continue to want to do business together.
5 This will depend on what your career is, and how broadly we define ‘negotiating’.
Background notes
• The quotation at the beginning (... the art of letting the other person have it your way)
is attributed to the Italian writer Daniele Vare. Vare was referring to diplomacy, but the
quotation has been widely used to describe persuasion and negotiations.
• The quotation at the end comes from the title of one of Dr Karass’s books.
See http://www.karrass.com/kar_eng/about.htm.
Show the class the different elements of the course, as described in the first paragraph. If you
have Internet access in your training room, use this opportunity to demonstrate some of the
online resources. If you will have access to a video camera during the course, explain how you
will use it to record and analyse trainees’ negotiations. Point out that for the course to be as
effective as possible there needs to be a balance between input (advice from the book, etc.)
and output (role plays of negotiations) with analysis and feedback.
The secrets of great negotiators

Elicit from the class a range of skills that great negotiators have. Students then read the
text to underline at least fifteen things that they can expect to learn during the course.
Go through each point briefly in class to make sure everyone understands, eliciting one or
two suggestions for each point. Avoid confirming or rejecting suggestions at this stage, as
this would undermine some of the exercises in the course. (For your reference, the relevant
sections where each point is addressed are given in the Suggested answers below.)
Suggested answers
Trainees will learn:
• the worst thing you can do to a negotiator (see Module 7B)
• what expert negotiators do more than twice as often as mediocre ones (see Module 6B)
• the connection between grammar and diplomacy (see Module 9A)
• the difference between negotiating positions and interests (see Module 6A)
• the six principles of persuasion (see Module 8B)
• when to be open to suggestions and when to say no (see Module 7C)
• the art of asking probing questions (see Modules 5A and 5B)
• the art of disagreeing without being too direct (see Module 9A)
• how to decode typical body language signals (see Module 4A)
• how to defend yourself against unethical tactics (see Module 8C)
• how to boost your own persuasiveness (see Modules 8A, 8B and 8C)
• the pros and cons of teamwork (see Module 1B)
• how to adjust to different cultures (see Module 1A)
• when to take the lead and when to wait and see what the other side offers first (see
Module 6A)
• how to control negative emotions (see Module 2A)

Language notes
• If you describe something as mediocre /ˌmiːdiˈəʊkə(r)/, it is of average (or slightly below-
average) quality.
• Diplomacy may refer to the work of diplomats, i.e. managing the relationships between
countries, or it may be used more generally to refer to the skill of dealing with people
without upsetting or offending them.
• A probing question asks for very specific information, often used as a way to identify
problems in the other person’s claims.
• If you boost something, you give it extra power or energy.
Extension activity 1
Draw trainees’ attention to the four examples of negotiations mentioned in the second
paragraph (negotiating a pay rise with your boss; arguing over a price rise with a
key supplier; buying time to complete a difficult project; renegotiating the terms of
a multimillion-dollar contract). Students discuss in pairs which of the four types of
negotiation they have taken part in or will need to take part in, and which they would find
the most stressful to do in their language or in English.
Discuss the Victor Kiam quote with the class. Elicit why a negotiator must be part Sherlock
Holmes, part Sigmund Freud.
Suggested answers
• Negotiators need to be like a detective (Sherlock Holmes was a famous fictional late-
19th century detective), in order to work out what the other person wants and is
prepared to accept. They also need to research their own interests carefully in order to
plan their strategy.
• They need to be like a psychologist (Sigmund Freud was a renowned early-20th century
psychologist, i.e. someone who studies the mind and human personality), because they
need to understand how the other person is thinking, and also try to work out the best
way to influence the other person.
Negotiating and you

Tell the trainees to cover the right-hand column. They work in pairs to discuss the ten
statements – which statements are true for them, and ways of overcoming the problems.
When they have finished, discuss the questions as a class, using the advice in the right-hand
column to guide your discussion.
Extension activity
Keep a record of trainees’ answers to the questionnaire, in order to measure progress
when you reach the end of the course. It can be very motivating for trainees to realise
that they can do something at the end of the course that they were unable to do at the
beginning.

International
Negotiations
Trainer’s Notes
1A Preparing to negotiate
Quote
Tell trainees to read the quote to identify a problem for business negotiators and a
comparison with a different group of people.
Answer
The problem is that business negotiators don’t prepare enough before a negotiation. The
comparison is with professional sports people.
1 Trainees discuss the task in small groups. Make sure they understand all the words (e.g.
venue = where the negotiation will take place). Point out that it may be easier to focus this
discussion if they have a specific negotiation in mind. Allow plenty of time for the discussion,
and encourage trainees to bring in their own experiences of preparing for negotiations.
Afterwards, use the list of six types of preparation in the question to elicit ideas from the class.
Extension activity
Tell trainees to read the commentary on page 60 to compare it with their ideas. They
should also identify what it says about each of the types of preparation listed in exercise 1.
When you check the answers with the class, you could use the commentary to generate
further discussion (e.g. examples of the various situations from your trainees’ own
experience). Note that the commentary introduces a number of key concepts for the topic
of negotiations (see Background notes below) which you can also discuss at this stage.
Answers
• Goals: the most critical part of your preparations. Opening proposal should be realistic
but ambitious.
• Alternatives: the different ‘packages’ you can offer as part of a deal; what you’ll do if you
fail to reach a deal.
• Background research: on the company you hope to do business with; on their
competition; your own competition.
• Team-building: selecting the optimal combination of personalities and expertise can
make or break your deal-making capacity. Look out for knowledge gaps or doubling up
of roles.
• Venue selection: if on your territory, you can set things up your way. If on theirs, you’ll
have to adapt.
• Cultural factors: do your homework, know what to expect, but don’t over-react as this
may give away your own expectations and put you at a disadvantage.

Background notes
• Doubly so means especially.
• Bargaining room is the space between what you want and what you will accept. It
is also sometimes called room for manoeuvre /məˈnuːvə(r)/, which is mentioned in
exercise 8.
• The commentary mentions what you’ll do if you fail to reach a deal. An important
concept here is BATNA, your Best Alternative To Negotiated Agreement. In other words,
it is vital to know exactly when it might make more sense to give up on a negotiation
and walk away. This concept is explored fully in Module 7C.
• If something can make or break a deal, it is the crucial ingredient that determines
whether you will succeed (make the deal) or fail (break the deal).
• If somebody or something is redundant, he/she/it is not needed.
• As mentioned in the commentary, an advantage of holding the negotiation on your
own territory is that you can set things up your way. It can also have more subtle
psychological advantages. For example, providing hospitality may leave the other side
feeling that they owe you something in return. On the other hand, an advantage of
negotiating ‘away from home’ is that you can walk away (or threaten to walk away)
more easily.
• If you accommodate your cultural behaviour, you adapt your behaviour to match the
culture of the other people. For example, if person A comes from a culture where it
is normal to get down to business straight away, but person B comes from a culture
where lengthy relationship-building is expected before a negotiation, it might be a
good idea for person A to devote more time to this relationship-building phase, even if
it feels unnatural. If both sides accommodate in this way, it should be possible to find a
compromise that suits them both. However, there is a danger of overreacting: person A
might be trying too hard to build a relationship, while person B is already expecting to
get down to business. This is an example of what the commentary describes as colliding
in the middle.
2 Trainees work in pairs or small groups to come up with a definition. They then share their
ideas with the class. Collect the best ideas on the board. Use the differences between their
ideas to generate some good discussion.
Extension activity
You could turn this activity into a type of negotiation. Two teams independently come
up with their own definitions. They then hold a meeting together to merge their two
definitions into a single definition, where the class as a whole comes up with a single
definition. The aim is not simply to maximise the number of ‘my team’s words’ in the final
definition, but rather to find a solution that is acceptable to both sides.
Finally, tell them to compare their ideas with the Suggested definition on page 60 of the key.
You could go through each part of the definition to generate more discussion, using these
questions.
1 Can you think of an example of a negotiation with more than two parties?
2 What is the difference between a common interest and a shared purpose?
3 What does it mean if an agreement is mutually beneficial?
4 What does it mean if an agreement is mutually acceptable?
5 What does it mean if an agreement is mutually implementable?

Suggested answers
1 Examples include international trade negotiations such as the GATT (General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) or environmental negotiations such as the Kyoto
Protocol on climate change.
2 Interests are what each party wants. Interests may be conflicting (e.g. party A wants
a low price, while party B wants a high price) or common (e.g. both parties want to
minimise the amount of money they will have to pay to a third party, such as the
government in taxes). The purpose of the negotiation is the reason the negotiation
is taking place. In most situations, the shared purpose is to reach an agreement.
However, sometimes one or both parties may have a different purpose (e.g. party A
is negotiating with party B, but really wants a deal with party C instead. For A, the
purpose of the negotiation with B may simply to allow A to negotiate from a stronger
position with party C).
3 It is good for both sides.
4 No part of the agreement is too bad for either side.
5 Both sides are able to fulfil their promises.
3 Trainees work alone to complete the flowchart. Make sure they know to complete the middle
column first, as these define the stages themselves. The outer columns give examples of the
activities that happen during those stages. They check their answers in pairs before feeding
back to the class.
Language notes
• If you build rapport /ræˈpɔː(r)/ with somebody, you get to know and develop a good
relationship with him/her.
• There is an important distinction between positions and interests. Interests define
what you really want and why you want it (e.g. we really want to enter this market, so
we are prepared to accept a low price if necessary), while positions are what you say
you want or will accept, in order to get a better deal. A key skill in a negotiation is to
identify the other party’s interests. Some negotiators believe it is better to be open and
honest about your interests, while others believe they are in a stronger position if they
keep their true interests secret. The issue of positions and interests is explored fully in
Module 6A.
• If you probe, you ask questions to get very specific information or a deeper
understanding of a situation.
• The verb to clarify has two meanings: to provide clarification or to ask for clarification.
In the flowchart, clarify has this second meaning.
• A concession is something you give to the other side in a negotiation, e.g. you accept
their demand for a 5-year guarantee. An important principle in negotiations is that
you should always trade concessions (e.g. we can provide that guarantee in exchange
for a more flexible delivery schedule), and never simply make concessions in isolation.
See Module 7A for more on trading concessions.
• A time-out is a break from a negotiation, when the parties can discuss an idea
among themselves or simply calm down if the negotiation is getting too emotional.
See Module 9B for more on the importance of time-outs.
Extension activity
Use Why- and How- questions for each row in the flowchart to generate a discussion with
the class, e.g.:
• Why is it important to ... build rapport / agree on a procedure, etc.?
• How exactly might you go about ... building rapport / agreeing on a procedure, etc.?

4 Trainees discuss the questions in small groups, bringing in their own experiences as much as
possible, and then share their ideas with the class. Finally, tell trainees to compare their ideas
with the commentary on page 60. The commentary may also generate further discussion if
trainees have different experiences of the nationalities mentioned.
Extension activity
After trainees have read and discussed the commentary, tell them to close their books.
Use this quiz to check how much they remember and also to deal with any problems with
the vocabulary in italics.
1 In which two countries will you be expected to stick to a more or less fixed agenda?
2 In which parts of the world will several meetings be necessary before an agreement
can be reached?
3 Which nationality will tend to begin with the probing questions almost immediately?
4 In which country might a strenuous amount of socialising may be expected, regardless
of how the negotiations are going?
5 Which nationality will want to close the deal as quickly as possible?
6 Which nationality will ask the same questions several times to reassure themselves of
the answers?
7 In which two countries would the social side normally be kept to a minimum until after
the deal has been struck?
8 Which nationality will usually want to sleep on it before making a final commitment?
9 Which nationality will almost always want you to set out your proposal first and then
counter it very vigorously?
10 In which country might you go out to dinner the day before a negotiation and find
yourself already informally engaged in negotiations?
11 In which country will be marched through the agenda fairly swiftly?
12 Which two nationalities will want to avoid such conflict at all costs?
13 In which country might it be acceptable to offer to get back to the other side with the
information at a later stage?
14 Which nationality may resent an enforced agenda which restricts their imagination
and creativity?
Answers
1 the USA and the UK
2 the Latin countries, the Gulf, most of Asia
3 Germans
4 China
5 Americans
6 Japanese
7 Germany and Switzerland
8 British
9 Russians
10 Italy
11 the USA
12 Japanese and British
13 the UK
14 French

5 1.02–1.04 Tell trainees to read the three descriptions and to predict and discuss in pairs
which notes may apply in each case. Make sure they fully understand all the vocabulary in the
notes (See Language notes below). Then play the recordings for trainees to tick the correct
notes. Finally, discuss the answers with the class.
Language notes
• Chit-chat is a negative name for informal conversation, i.e. chat that goes on too long.
The term small talk is a more positive way of describing informal discussions. More
generally, the relationship-building phase of a negotiation may be described as the
preliminaries.
• Sales and persuasion techniques can be divided into hard-sell techniques and soft-sell
techniques. An aggressive salesman or negotiator may use hard-sell techniques to
persuade (or even trick) the other person to agree to something they may not actually
want. Afterwards, the buyer may feel weak or negative, as if he/she has ‘lost’ the
negotiation. Soft-sell techniques are more gentle. They work by making the buyer like
and trust the seller, and at the end the buyer will feel positive about the negotiation.
• If someone is trustworthy, he/she can be trusted.
• If you hit on something, you find it by accident.
• If you do something subtly /ˈsʌt.lˌi/, you do not draw attention to what you are doing.
• If someone is notorious for something, they are famous but in a negative way.
• If an agreement is binding, it can be enforced in a court of law. In many countries, an
agreement may be treated as a binding contract even if it is not written down or signed.
• If you are well briefed, you are prepared, and have collected advice and information.
• Rest assured means ‘don’t worry – you can be sure’.
• If something is seen as premature, it happens earlier than it should.
• If something emerges, it appears slowly and gradually, as part of a natural process.
• If you go with the flow, you accept a situation and don’t try to fight it.
• Vague /veɪg/ proposals are not specific.
Extension activity
Tell trainees to look at the audio scripts on page 46 and play the recordings again for
them to listen and underline all the advice for dealing with each cultural type. They
compare their answers in pairs before feeding back to the class.
Suggested answers
Fact cultures: don’t waste time with too much small talk; be careful not to end up
discussing issues in isolation which really need to be connected; be extremely well briefed
with all the relevant information; be aware that the main objective of the negotiation is to
do business; focus on [key terms] right from the start; be prepared for regular summaries
of what’s on the table at each stage of the negotiation and a concrete outcome at the
end.
People cultures: don’t rush the preliminaries; take your lead from them as to how long the
social introductions and opening generalisations should go on; [don’t] hurry them into
proposing a list of items to discuss; take it easy, ‘go with the flow’; [don’t expect] a final
decision ... to be reached without a further meeting.
Trust cultures: [don’t] sell yourself hard; listen to them; [allow] a common purpose [to]
emerge; [don’t show] emotions or disagreement; [don’t try] to find out the motivation
behind their demands ... by asking questions; keep making calculated guesses about
what they want until you hit the target; [be cautious about] giving away information
about needs and priorities; accept that it will take a long time to agree anything and that
anything agreed will ... have to be flexible.

6 Make sure trainees understand the word stereotype. Trainees then discuss the questions in
pairs and then share their ideas with the class, including their experiences of false stereotypes.
Finally, tell them to compare their ideas and experiences with those in the commentary on
page 60.
Background note
A stereotype is based on the incorrect assumption that every person from a particular
culture will behave in a particular way. In fact, although we are of course influenced by
our cultures, there is wide variety within each culture. Also, we each belong to many
cultures, related to, for example, the type of organisation we work for, our jobs within
that organisation, our age, our gender, our family situation, etc., as well as our national
cultures. For example, a Japanese sales representative may have more in common
culturally with an Italian sales representative than with, say, a Japanese computer
programmer.
Extension activity
Trainees read the commentary to sort the countries into six groups, i.e. the three broad
cultural types from exercise 5 and the three ways of combining these broad types. Then
discuss the answers with the class, including whether they agree with the groupings and
whether they have experienced any of them in practice.
Answers
Fact cultures: the UK, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the Scandinavian countries,
most Central and East European countries (with the possible exception of Hungary),
the USA
Fact and people cultures: France, Poland, Russia, Romania
People cultures: most Latin (Italy, Spain, Portugal) and non-Latin Mediterranean (Greece,
Turkey) countries, Latin American countries, the Gulf states
People and trust cultures: Vietnam, the Philippines, India
Trust cultures: the majority of Asian cultures (Japan, China, Korea, Thailand, etc.)
Trust and fact cultures: the UK, Hong Kong
7 Make sure everyone understands all the words in the advice for negotiating with people from
each of the cultures (e.g. to digress, seldom, to read between the lines). Trainees then work in
pairs to discuss the advice. Afterwards, discuss the answers with the class. You could also elicit
some more advice for negotiating with different nationalities and cultures, based on your
trainees’ own experience.
8 Go through the rules with the class. Make sure trainees know to check the answers in the key
on page 61 and to keep a record of their points. Note that the game will work just as well in
groups of three, or with a shorter time limit.
If you don’t have dice, give each pair or group twelve identical pieces of paper. They should
write the numbers 1–6 on each piece of paper, so that there are two with each number. They
place these face down and in a mixed up order on their desks. Trainees then take turns to
choose two at random, turn them over and treat the two numbers as dice rolls.
Stop the game at the end of the time limit to check who has the most points. You could also
go through all the useful phrases with the class to check everyone fully understands what they
mean and when to use them.

Language notes
• If you tie up the loose ends of a deal, you finalise all the small, detailed issues after the
main agreement has been reached.
• You can put a face to a voice (or to a name) when you meet someone face-to-face after
earlier getting to know them only by telephone (or by email).
• Exclusivity involves agreeing to buy or sell a certain product or service from/to only one
organisation.
• In a negotiation, your bottom line is your absolute maximum or minimum, beyond
which you cannot or will not negotiate.
• By all means means ‘yes, of course’.
Extension activity
Trainees test each other in pairs by reading one of the phrases in black from the game to
elicit a suitable response (such as the useful phrase in green) from their partner, whose
book is closed. Afterwards, tell everyone to close their books. Elicit from the class all the
useful phrases from the game for each stage in the negotiation.

International
Negotiations
Trainer’s Notes
1B Preparing to negotiate
Quote
Elicit from the class what the key to successful team negotiations might be, and then read
the quote to compare it with their ideas.
Answer
Each team member must play a specific role.
Language note
• A facilitator manages a process (e.g. a meeting or negotiation) without getting involved
(e.g. by expressing opinions or making decisions).
1 Trainees discuss the questions in small groups and then share their ideas with the class. Make
a list of roles on the board. Afterwards, tell trainees to read the commentary on page 61 to
compare it with their ideas. Finally, elicit from the class any changes to the list of roles, based
on the ideas in the commentary.
2 Make sure trainees fully understand all the words from the box and the model (see Language
notes below). They then work alone to complete the exercise and compare their answers in
pairs. Finally, go through the answers with the class.
Language notes
• If you conciliate in a dispute, you help the two sides to reach an agreement.
• Number-crunching is an informal name for doing complex or boring calculations.
• A deadlock is a situation where there seems to be no way for the two sides to reach an
agreement.
Extension activity
Trainees test each other in pairs by taking turns to ask about one of the roles (e.g. What
does a decision-maker do?) to elicit the phrase from the model.
3 1.05 Make sure trainees understand that the six team members are the same six roles as
in exercise 2. Play the recording for trainees to complete the exercise. They compare their
answers in pairs and then feed back to the class.

Extension activity
Write the following questions on the board. Point out that there is one question for each
extract from 1.05. Trainees listen again to answer the questions. Then go through the
answers with the class.
1 What is the problem and the suggested solution?
2 What are the figures in the calculation?
3 What is the decision and the reason for it?
4 What is the problem and the offer?
5 What is the cause of the deadlock?
6 What is the opportunity that the observer has spotted?
Answers
1 Problem: they aren’t getting very far. Solution: come up with some alternatives.
2 27,650 + 4% = 28,756
3 Decision: to leave it (= to refuse the offer). Reason: it doesn’t meet their needs.
4 Problem: the set-up costs are too high. Offer: to sign up for three years.
5 The surcharges (= additional charges)
6 The other side will go ahead (= agree to the offer) if they can be reassured about
compatibility (= that the various machines or systems will work together).
4 Trainees work in pairs or small groups to complete the table. Afterwards, elicit from the class
as many ideas as possible onto the board. Finally, tell trainees to compare their ideas with
those in the commentary on page 61. Keep the list of ideas on the board, as this will be useful
for exercise 5.
5 Trainees read the article to see if it mentions the same ideas as they came up with in
exercise 4, and to underline any additional ideas that they hadn’t thought of. They compare
their answers in pairs before feeding back to the class.
Extension activity
Discuss these questions with the class to make sure trainees have fully understood the
text. Note that questions 8–10 are not answered in the text, but are designed to relate
the topics from the text to trainees’ own knowledge and experience.
1 According to the first paragraph, why might it be a burden (= a disadvantage) if you
have more players on your team?
2 Is it ever possible to retract (= take back) a concession in a negotiation?
3 How many benefits of teamwork are mentioned in paragraph 2?
4 What example is given in paragraph 3 of ‘the promise of teams’?
5 Why might this promise elude us (= be impossible to reach)?
6 What is the main advice from paragraphs 1–3?
7 Give an example of a diverse set of knowledge, abilities or expertise.
8 Give an example of diverse interests that may be represented in a union negotiation.
9 What would be the result if you tried to negotiate alone in a major international
negotiation or a merger or acquisition?
10 How much time is sufficient to coordinate a team effort?

Suggested answers
1 Because there is a risk that members will under-prepare; colleagues may make
concessions that you are not happy about.
2 It is usually possible, at least until a formal agreement is reached. However, it may be
seen as unprofessional. The other side may decide you are not taking the negotiation
seriously enough. They may also try to exploit disagreements within your team for their
own benefit.
3 Two main benefits: more discussion / information sharing; feeling more powerful/
secure.
4 The formidable team you might expect by looking at each individual’s strengths and
potential to succeed.
5 Members might disagree on key issues.
6 Don’t under-prepare for team negotiations; make sure concessions never ‘slip out’
without your whole team expecting them; resolve any disagreements within the team
before the negotiation.
7 The team mentioned in paragraph 3 is a good example.
8 Some members of the union may be willing to accept a low offer because they want
to avoid conflict, while other members may want to push hard for a much better offer,
at the risk of serious conflict.
9 It depends on the details of the situation, but it would certainly be seen as unusual.
This could of course work to your advantage, as long as you are well-informed and
brave enough to handle the tough negotiation by yourself.
10 Again, this depends on the situation – the size of the team, the initial differences
between their opinions, the importance and complexity of the negotiation, etc.
6 Trainees discuss the questions in small groups and then share their experiences with the class.
If your trainees are not experienced negotiators, get them to imagine examples for each
situation, and what they would do in each case.
7 Make sure everyone reads and fully understands the background information to the case study
at the top of page 81.
Extension activity
You could use the following questions to check they have understood.
1 Who are the two parties to the negotiation?
2 What is SunSource’s goal in the negotiation?
3 In what ways can negotiating with the Chinese be rather predictable?
4 In what ways can it be very unpredictable?
5 What is guanxi (/ˈɡwanʃi/)?
6 How are younger executives seen in China?
7 How many people are you allowed to have in your team?

Background note
Guanxi is pronounced /ˈɡwanʃi/. See http://www.thinkingchinese.com/guanxi-guanxixue-
personal-connection-in-modern-china for some background information on guanxi.
Note that although English is now widely learned in China, older people and people
away from the wealthier coastal areas may not have learned it. Even those who have
studied English may find it more difficult than speakers of European languages which
are more closely related to English, and may have strong accents. Very few people from
other countries have studied or mastered Chinese. To complicate matters, different
dialects of Chinese may be seen as different languages, so someone who has learned
Mandarin Chinese (the most commonly spoken form of Chinese, including in the north of
the country and inland) may not be able to communicate with a speaker of Cantonese
(also called Yue Chinese, widely spoken in the wealthier southern coastal areas around
Hong Kong and Guangzhou).
Answers
1 SunSource, a multinational solar energy company, and the North China Electric Power
Company.
2 It wants a large contract to build solar-thermal energy plants using its own proprietary
technology (= technology which they have the sole rights to use).
3 They are concerned with politeness and protocol (= rules about how to behave).
4 They will often assume that everything is negotiable and do not like to be bound by
written contracts.
5 Special treatment of those in one’s immediate business network.
6 Younger executives may receive less respect than more senior business people,
especially when dealing with state-run industries.
7 Up to five.
Trainees then work in pairs to read the profiles and to plan the best team. Note that this
discussion is itself a form of negotiation, but point out that the aim is to share information
and to find the best solution, rather than to get as many of ‘my people’ onto the team as
possible. Allow plenty of time for the discussion (up to ten minutes) and monitor carefully,
paying particular attention to their skills and weaknesses as negotiators. At the end,
trainees give feedback to each other, using the online feedback forms (see page 110 and
www.cambridge.org/elt/internationalnegotiations). Ask each pair to present their dream
team to the class. Finally, give and elicit feedback on the success of the discussions/
negotiations and the language used.
If you have an odd number of trainees, you will need to have one group of three, where the
third trainee can read both sets of profiles, and should act as a mediator to help the other two
trainees to reach a decision.
8 Trainees read the commentary to compare it with their own ideas, and to see which pair was
closest to the suggested solution. Discuss with the class which solution – the one from the
commentary or your trainees’ own solutions – is best.

International
Negotiations
Trainer’s Notes
2A Relationship-building
Quote
Ask trainees to read the two quotes to find the connection between them. They should
also identify the most important difference between them. Discuss the answers with the
class.
Answers
Both quotes highlight the importance of personalities and relationships. Difference: the
first quote is speaking to you as the person who chooses to negotiate, and focuses on
whether you like the other person, while the second focuses on whether the person who
chooses to negotiate likes you.
1 Make sure everyone understands the meaning of goodwill (= positive feelings for another
person based on trust) in question c. Trainees discuss the four questions in small groups.
After a few minutes, open up the discussion to include the whole class. You could encourage
trainees to think of real-life examples of the two types of negotiations implied by question b
(i.e. one-off negotiations, e.g. selling your house, and repeated negotiations, e.g. getting a
good price from a regular supplier). Finally, tell trainees to read the commentary on page 62
to compare it with their ideas. Discuss any differences with the class.
2 Discuss briefly with the class whether anyone has seen the film Jingle All The Way.
Trainees read the instructions and the information on page 82. You could check trainees’
understanding of the situation by asking questions (e.g. Why do you want the toy so badly?
Who is the other person that grabs the toy? How are you feeling when you grab the toy?).
Trainees then work in pairs to conduct the negotiation. They should stand up to allow better
use of body language. Note that you could make the negotiation more realistic by giving
trainees a physical object (e.g. a pencil) to serve as the toy. Allow around five minutes for the
negotiation.
If you have an odd number of trainees, the negation will work just as well in a group of three.
3 Go through the seven words and phrases with the class to make sure everyone understands
the words. Trainees then discuss in pairs which techniques they used and how they felt about
the negotiation. After a few minutes, open up the discussion to include the whole class.
Language notes
• Bullying involves using your power (e.g. physical strength, professional status, etc.) to
make others do what you want them to do, typically by using threats of what you will
do if they don’t follow your instructions.
• If you justify yourself, you explain the reasons for your behaviour.
• Emotional blackmail involves using emotions like guilt to make the other person feel
bad. For example, one person in this negotiation could say that his/her child is very ill.

4 Tell trainees read the background notes. They then repeat the role play. Stop the role plays
after about five minutes.
If you have an odd number of trainees, the negation will work just as well in a group of three,
where two trainees read the Speaker 1 role.
5 Trainees discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
6 Tell trainees to read the analysis. Allow about two minutes for the reading, and then tell them
to cover the text and to discuss the phrases in exercise 6 with a partner, including what was
said about each of them. After a few minutes, open up the discussion to include the class. You
could also check that they understood and remember some of the other key words from the
text: intimidation, submission, work together collaboratively and compromise.
Extension activity
Tell trainees to repeat the role play from exercise 2 with a different partner, this time
trying to use some of the advice from the article.
7 1.06 Elicit from the class what the diagrams might show. Trainees then work in pairs to
predict the missing words in the descriptions. Play the recording for them to complete the
notes. Allow them to discuss their answers in pairs again before sharing their answers with
the class.
Extension activity
Write the following questions on the board. Trainees listen to the recording a second time to
answer the questions. They discuss their answers in pairs before feeding back to the class.
1 What is the name of Fons Trompenaars’ book?
2 In a high-context culture, which is more important, business or people, according to
the trainee?
3 In what way is Microsoft’s slogan not a coincidence?
4 What verb does the trainer us to describe the way high-context cultures become
gradually more focused on the business?
5 What verb does the trainer use to describe the way low-context cultures become more
focused on relationships?
6 Think about the quote from John D. Rockefeller. Which of the two diagrams best
represents his viewpoint?
Answers
1 Riding the Waves of Culture.
2 According to the trainee, they are both equally important the other.
3 Because it is from North America, where the emphasis is on today, not tomorrow.
4 zoom in
5 unwind
6 The one on the right: start with business and then become friends.
8 Trainees work in pairs to discuss the questions. After a few minutes, open up the discussion
to include the whole class. Finally, tell trainees to compare their ideas with those in the
commentary on page 62, and discuss any differences with the class. You could use the
commentary on question d (... it’s best not to have too many preconceptions about the
people you’re doing business with ...) to generate some further discussion.
9 1.07 Trainees discuss the behaviour patterns in pairs to check they understand all the
vocabulary (e.g. to insist on something, small talk, etc.) and to predict who might use them.
Then play the recording for trainees to check their answers. They discuss their answers in pairs
before feeding back to the class.

Extension activity
Trainees look at the audio script on page 47. They then listen again to underline all the
useful phrases used by Stuart for building relationships and for getting down to business
from the script. Afterwards, discuss the answers with the class.
Suggested answer
Building relationships Getting down to business

... welcome to Chicago! Delighted you Now, as you know, we’re on a pretty tight
could make it. schedule, so I suggest we get straight down
Did you have a good flight over from to business.
Monterrey? We’re obviously very interested in your company
I trust everything’s OK with your and your products ...
accommodations? Now, as I was saying, we’ve read ... and we’re
... please, call me Stu. really excited about ...
Is that so? Well, I hope you enjoy We think there’s a lot of scope for collaboration
your stay. here – provided we can ...
I’m sorry, did everyone get a coffee? So ... over to you! Let’s see what you’ve got!
Please, help yourselves. These guys have really got some great ideas ...
10 Discuss the question (How often do you negotiate with people you know well?) with the class.
Trainees then work alone to complete the phrases and then check with the class.
Extension activity
Elicit from the class onto the board a suitable reply to each sentence from exercise 10.
Then tell trainees to close their books. In pairs, they try to remember the ten sentences,
word for word, using only the replies on the board to help them remember.
Possible answers
a It must be at least five years.
b Very well, thanks. And what about you?
c Thanks. I’m a lot less stressed than I used to be.
d Oh, the usual. Work, family, golf ... but we had a great holiday earlier this year.
e Well, yes, we were planning to, but the deal fell through. It’s not really a good time to
sell at the moment.
f Yes, that’s right. How did you remember that? Yes, we went to Turkey. It was lovely.
g Not as much as I’d like, but I still play a couple of times a month. What about you?
h Well, I’ve got a new title. I’m now a Senior Development Manager, but it’s basically the
same job as I was doing before.
i Very well. It was a bit strange for the first few weeks, but it really suits me now, I think.
j Well, nothing’s signed yet, but the negotiations are going very well.
11 Distribute the feedback forms (see page 110 and www.cambridge.org/elt/

internationalnegotiations) so that each trainee has a copy. Go through the form with the
class, to make sure everyone knows what to pay particular attention to. Then go through
the four steps on page 83 carefully with the class, making sure they realise they can invent
information and that they do not need to write in every box. Allow a few minutes for trainees
to complete the table and then to explain their notes to their partner. Allow around five
minutes for the role play. Monitor carefully, paying attention not only to language issues but
also to the success of the relationship-building techniques. Trainees then use the feedback
forms to give each other feedback. Finally, give your own feedback and discuss the success of
the activity with the class.

International
Negotiations
Trainer’s Notes
2B Relationship-building
Quote
Trainees read the quote to find the main piece of advice it contains. Make sure they
fully understand the meaning of rapport /ræˈpɔː(r)/ (= positive feelings between people,
when they get on with each other). You could also use the four sentences of the quote to
generate mini-discussions:
1 Do you agree that we like people who are similar to us?
2 Think of examples of situations where a person might be feeling defensive,
confrontational or apprehensive.
3 Why is it important to put someone at ease and to build rapport?
Suggested answers
1 The main piece of advice is: find a common bond.
2 Defensive: while being criticised. Confrontational: in a negotiation which has a lot of
‘history’, i.e. past conflicts. Apprehensive: when there is a lot at stake.
3 They will like you more, and that could be good for your negotiation.
1 Trainees discuss the questions in small groups. After a few minutes, open up the discussion to
include the whole class. Make a list of safe and risky topics on the board. Finally, trainees read
the commentary on page 62 to compare it with their ideas.
Extension activity
Trainees make a list of the safe and risky topics mentioned in the commentary.
Answers
Safe topics Risky topics
weather families
food relationships
sport the local economy
interests politics
places you know the news
talking shop sex and religion
the global economy local customs, traditions, conflicts
2 1.08–1.09 Go through the eight topics quickly with the class to elicit some possible
questions for each topic. Then play the recordings for trainees to complete the task. They
compare their answers in pairs and then feed back to the class.
3 Trainees discuss in pairs what was said about each word or phrase. Play the recordings a
second time for them to check. They check again in pairs before feeding back to the class.
Finally, go through the answers with the class.

Background notes
• Paris V is another name for Paris Descartes University. The V is the Roman numeral 5, a
reference to the 5th district of Paris, where the university is located.
• Katowice /katoˈvi:tse/ is a major city in southern Poland.
• Brasilia is the capital, and fourth largest city, of Brazil.
• Caipirinha /kaipiˈri:nja/ is a popular Brazilian cocktail, made with Cachaça, a spirit made
from sugar cane.
4 Discuss the question with the class. Make sure everyone understands the meaning of counter-
productive (= having the opposite result to what you want) and elicit some examples where
small could be counter-productive. Trainees then read the quote to compare it with their
ideas. Discuss with the class whether trainees agree with the advice. Finally, tell trainees to
compare their ideas with those in the commentary on page 63.
Extension activity
Trainees read the quote again to find two examples of when to use small talk and two of
when it might be best to avoid it.
Answers
Use small talk when you are offered coffee and when a genuine coincidence is likely
to forge a connection; it might be best to avoid small talk when you are directed to
your chair and when you have nothing more to talk about than your counterpart’s
beautiful family.
5 Trainees work in pairs to brainstorm a list of seven possible rules. Elicit some examples from
the class and write them on the board. Then tell trainees to read the text, ignoring the
gapped phrases, to compare it with the ideas on the board. Trainees then work in pairs to
complete the gapped phrases. Remind them to use the audio scripts on page 47 to help
them.
Extension activity
Go through the phrases with the class to identify the key words in each phrase, which can
be used in other situations. Trainees test each other in pairs or groups of three by reading
one of the seven rules to elicit some of the phrases from their partner, whose book is
closed. Alternatively, they could provide the first few words of a phrase (e.g. I believe
you’re ...) to elicit a suitable ending from their partner.
Suggested answers
• I believe you’re ... ; I hear you’re ... ; Didn’t I read somewhere that you’re ... ;
I understand you ...
• So you obviously ... ; I suppose you were ... ; I imagine it’s ... ; You must have ...
• Is this your first time in ...? ; Did you get to see much of ...? ; Tell me, are you interested
in ... at all? ; Do you ...?
• Oh, really? ; Is that so? ; How fascinating! ; Oh, I see. ; How exciting! ; What a shame! ;
That’s interesting. ; What a nuisance! ; That’s good news. ; Oh, that’s a pity. ; That’s a
coincidence. ; Small world!
• Let me introduce you to ... ; I’d like you to meet ... ; Have you tried ...? ; Let me refill
your glass. ; We must make sure you see ... ; In that case, I’ll see what we can arrange.
• Delighted to meet you at last. ; I’ve heard a lot about you. ; I’m very impressed
with your ...
• This is ... ; She’ll be ... ; Actually, I was ...

Quote
Read the quote aloud. Discuss with the class whether they agree that rapport is always the
first step, and whether it is therefore the most important step.

internationalnegotiations) and go through them with the class to make sure everyone knows
what to pay particular attention to. Then go through the instructions and objectives. Allocate
roles, so that each trainee is either a visitor or a host. Trainees then work in pairs to complete
the notes on page 84. Make sure they know to keep the notes very brief, and to leave blank
any spaces where they feel they have nothing to say. When they are ready, remind trainees
of the objectives and start the role play. Allow up to ten minutes for the role play, during
which time you can monitor carefully for language and the effectiveness of trainees’ rapport-
building techniques. Afterwards, trainees complete the feedback forms for their partners and
discuss the feedback together. Finally, go through the feedback with the class, including your
own feedback.
If you have an odd number of trainees, you will need to have a group of three, where the
third trainee is a second visitor.
Extension activity
Write the following questions on the board.
1 What is the perfect balance, in percentage terms, between talking and listening?
2 What is the best balance between questions about your partner and comments about
yourself? How many questions are too many?
3 What is the best thing to do if your partner doesn’t seem interested in a topic you have
raised in small talk?
4 Which is better: to keep talking as long as possible about one topic, or to change the
topic frequently?
5 Should you try to stay be enthusiastic if your partner doesn’t seem interested in small
talk?
Trainees discuss the questions in pairs and then share their ideas with the class. Trainees
then read the commentary on page 63 to compare it with their ideas. Discuss any
differences or surprises with the class.
Answers
1 With a talkative partner, 60% listening and 40% talking.
2 No more than three questions in a row.
3 Close it with a final positive remark.
4 Keep talking as long as the topic is interesting to both of you.
5 No – be cheerful, but don’t pretend to be enthusiastic.
7 Trainees take turns to introduce their partners to the class. If you have a large class, divide
the class into groups of around six trainees for these mini-presentations. Afterwards, give and
elicit feedback on the effectiveness of these presentations.

International
Negotiations
Trainer’s Notes
3 Establishing a procedure
Quote
Read the quote aloud. Elicit from the class if anyone has experience of a negotiation of the
sort Kennedy describes, and what the best way of dealing with such a situation might be.
Suggested answer
If they really are not willing to bring anything at all to the negotiating table, then you
could refuse to negotiate as well – but at the same time put pressure on them by making
sure others know it is the other party who is at fault.
1 Trainees discuss the question in small groups, using examples where possible. Point out
that the obvious answer is ‘it depends’, so trainees should discuss what it depends on. After
a few minutes, open up the discussion to include the whole class. Trainees then read the
commentary on page 63 to compare it with their ideas.
2 1.10 Play the recording for trainees to compare it with their ideas from exercise 1. They
discuss the similarities and differences in pairs before feeding back to the class. Trainees
discuss then the two questions in pairs. After a few minutes, open up the discussion to include
the whole class. Finally, tell trainees to compare their ideas with those in the commentary on
page 63. Discuss any differences with the class.
Extension activity
Write the following words and phrases on the board. Trainees work in pairs to decide
which speaker mentions each phrase. They listen a second time to check and then feed
back to the class.
consider our response our positions converge
digressing pretty thorough
getting side-tracked restricts what can be discussed
in our own way self-justifications
invested a lot of themselves stick to it
irrelevant your position
keep things flexible
Answers
• Speaker 1: digressing; getting side-tracked; invested a lot of themselves; irrelevant; self-
justifications; pretty thorough; stick to it.
• Speaker 2: consider our response; keep things flexible; our positions converge; restricts
what can be discussed; in our own way; your position

3 Elicit from the class a list of points which might be considered non-negotiable in different
types of negotiations (e.g. in a job relocation negotiation, the location must be in Europe; in a
sales negotiation, the supplier must have met international quality standards; etc.), and write
them on the board. Trainees then discuss the question in small groups in the context of these
non-negotiable points, and then share their ideas with the class. They then compare their
ideas with those in the commentary on page 63. Discuss with the class what might persuade
someone to show flexibility on one of the non-negotiable points from the board.
4 1.11 Trainees study the agenda to make sure they understand all the words and to predict
some of the missing information. Then play the recording for trainees to complete the agenda
and check their answers against the completed agenda on page 64. Discuss with the class
the usefulness of going through the agenda in this way, i.e. have any trainees changed their
minds about the question in exercise 1 after hearing this example?
Background notes
• Under a licensing agreement, the licensor typically owns some intellectual property
(e.g. a patent, a trademark or copyrighted materials). The licensee pays the licensor for
the right to use that intellectual property. There may be different licensees in different
countries/markets. A key issue in licensing agreements is exclusivity: will the licensee
hold the only licence for the intellectual property in a particular market (a sole licensee),
or one of many? Obviously, an exclusive license is much more valuable.
• The scope of a license determines how widely it applies, both in terms of geographical
area and also in terms of exactly what it covers.
• The term of a licence is its duration in time.
• Remuneration simply means payment. It can come as a lump sum (i.e. all at once) or as
a staged payment.
• A milestone is an important stage in a process, determined either by actions (e.g. the
official launch of the product) or results (e.g. a million sales).
5 Trainees work in pairs to compare their answers and to discuss their understanding of the
points in the agenda (see Background notes above).
6 Go through the answers to exercises 4 and 5 with the class.
Extension activity
Trainees work in pairs to plan the agenda for a negotiation that one or both of them has
taken part in, or may take part in at some time in the future. They should use the draft
agenda from exercise 4 as a model.
7 Trainees work alone to complete the exercise and then check their answers in pairs.
8 Play 1.11 a second time for trainees to check their answers. Then go through the answers
with the class.
Extension activity
Tell trainees to cover the expressions from exercise 7, leaving visible only the pairs of
words in the box. They then work in pairs or groups of three to test each other by reading
a pair of words aloud to elicit the whole expression from their partner(s).

9 Go through the quote with the class, making sure everyone understands all the vocabulary
(see Language notes below). Trainees then discuss the question in small groups. After a few
minutes, open up the discussion to include the whole class. Finally, tell trainees to compare
their ideas with the commentary on page 64 and discuss any differences with the class.
Language notes
• If you do follow an agenda explicitly, there is a written agenda which you use as the
basis of your meeting. If you follow an agenda implicitly, there may be no written
agenda, but you still have a plan in your mind which you work through.
• Literally, a laundry list is a list of clothes that need to be washed. As an idiom, it means a
long list of things to do, usually in a random order.
Extension activity
Trainees work in the same pairs as in the extension activity after exercise 6. They use the
phrases from exercise 7 to present their agendas to another pair. The other pair should
make notes and try to introduce at least five changes to the agenda, again using the
phrases from exercise 7. Allow around five minutes for the negotiation about the agenda.
They then swap roles to negotiate over the second pair’s draft agenda.

internationalnegotiations) and go through them with the class so that everyone knows what
to focus on. Then tell trainees to read the notes on page 85. Allocate roles. Allow around
five minutes for trainees to plan their priorities before they work together to establish a
procedure. Make sure trainees know to use the phrases from exercise 7 in their discussions,
and their aim is only to establish the procedure, not conduct the negotiation itself. Monitor
carefully during the role plays for language and for the effectiveness of trainees’ negotiating
skills. After around five minutes, trainees use the feedback form to discuss each other’s
performance. Finally, ask some pairs to report back on their negotiations, and give and elicit
feedback. Use the commentary on page 64 to check that trainees covered all the most
important points.
third trainee is the buyer’s lawyer/accountant/assistant.
Extension activity
If you have time, trainees could conduct the negotiation itself, following their agendas.
To make this easier, they could use a currency they are familiar with, at today’s value.
Encourage them to follow the advice given in the quote in exercise 9.

International
Negotiations
Trainer’s Notes
4A The proposal stage
Quote
Read the quote aloud. Discuss with the class what the meaning of at stake (= at risk,
part of a negotiation) and sums (= amounts of money). Elicit whether there are ever any
negotiations where money is not at stake.
Suggested answer
Yes, for example, negotiations within a family or between friends (e.g. I’ll cook if you’ll
wash up), where favours are traded.
1 Trainees discuss the questions in small groups. After a few minutes, open up the discussion
to include the whole class. Tell trainees to compare their ideas with the commentary on
page 64.
Extension activity
Discuss with the class whether they have experience of negotiating with the nationalities
mentioned in the commentary, and whether the descriptions are accurate. They could
also decide whether their own culture is more likely to prefer frankness and directness or
to ‘play the waiting game’ and be evasive.
2 Trainees cover the diagram and discuss the question in pairs. They then uncover the map
to complete the missing words and to compare it with their ideas. Check the answers with
the class, and discuss whether everyone agrees with these eight ‘vital ingredients’ (essential
elements).
Extension activity
Use the eight ‘ingredients’ to generate mini-discussions. Mostly the answer will be ‘it
depends’, in which case you can discuss what it depends on.
1 How many demands should you make?
2 What options are the most important to keep open?
3 How can you make your proposal hypothetical?
4 How much flexibility is enough?
5 How can you leave yourself room for manoeuvre?
6 Why can’t you be open about your strategy?
7 When is the right time to talk figures?
8 What might happen if you ‘force the other party into a corner’?

Suggested answers
1 No more than you would expect the other party to make.
2 The option of walking away from the negotiation.
3 By using phrases like Hypothetically speaking and For the sake of argument,
let’s imagine ...
4 If you deviate from your opening position very radically (e.g. by agreeing to half the
price), you will show you were not serious, or did not respect the other person.
5 By not agreeing any points until everything is on the table.
6 Because it will tell the other party exactly how to take advantage of you.
7 In many cultures, certainly not before rapport has been established and the main
issues are known by both sides.
8 They may become hostile or offended. They may walk away from the negotiation.
If the negotiation continues, your relationship and reputation will be damaged.
3 1.12 Trainees listen to the extracts to make notes of the mistakes. They discuss their
answers in pairs before feeding back to the class. Finally, tell trainees to read the commentary
on page 64 to compare it with their own ideas.
Extension activity
Trainees listen again to identify the topics of the negotiations. They discuss their answers
in pairs and then with the class.
Suggested answers
• Extract 1 appears to be a sales negotiation for a large quantity of items. They require
service and maintenance, so the items are probably some kind of machine.
• Extract 2 appears to be a negotiation to set up a new project on behalf of the client.
Judging by the sums of money, this could involve refurbishing an office, for example,
or installing a new IT system.
• Extract 3 is a sales negotiation for a large quantity of items.
• Extract 4 is a negotiation between a company and a potential distributor – either an
individual person or a company. The aim is to establish the company in a new market.
4 Trainees work alone to put the words in the right order. They check in pairs before feeding
back to the class. Afterwards, discuss with the class some situations when these phrases might
be useful.
Suggested answers
Although these expressions may be unsuitable for the proposal stage, they may be useful
at later stages, i.e. when the parties are bargaining and trying to reach an agreement.
Expressions a, b and c are all useful for applying pressure, but the speaker needs to be
careful not to close off options too soon (see Module 9B). The other six expressions are all
very generous, and may be useful to rescue a negotiation that would otherwise fail. There
are two main reasons for using them: either to trade concessions with the other party, or
simply to encourage the other party to like and trust you, and to feel a moral obligation
to give something in return. However, if you show too much enthusiasm for making
concessions, the other party may feel that you were not being serious or honest with your
initial proposal.

5 Go through the example with the class, to show how it relates to the first sentence in
exercise 4. Trainees then work in pairs to complete the remaining sentence. When you go
through the answers with the class, discuss which version of each sentence (i.e. the one from
exercise 4 or exercise 5) would be most useful in the proposal stage. You could also elicit
which words or grammar structures make the versions from exercise 5 more open-ended.
Suggested answers
The versions from exercise 5 are intended to be improvements on the versions from
exercise 4, but some trainees may argue that the version from exercise 4 would be more
appropriate in their own cultures, or at different stages of the negotiation.
The open-ended versions from exercise 5 have the following features:
• Softeners: Ideally; I’m afraid; If I can be frank for a moment ...
• Modal verbs: would; might; may
• Inability phrases: we can’t be very flexible
• Passive voice: ... would be included
• Qualifiers: some flexibility; some room for manoeuvre
See Module 9A for more practice of these techniques.
Extension activity
Trainees test each other in pairs or groups of three by reading one of the sentences from
exercise 4 to elicit from their partner(s) the more open-ended version from exercise 5.
Afterwards, they can read the sentences from exercise 5 to elicit the sentences from
exercise 4.
6 1.13 Go through the instructions and the questions with the class. Elicit some possible
answers to the questions, to check everyone understands the vocabulary (e.g. jumping to
conclusions, clusters). Then play the recording for trainees to answer the questions. They
discuss their answers in pairs before feeding back to the class. Finally, tell trainees to read the
commentary on page 64 to compare it with their own ideas.
Extension activity
Trainees look at the audio script on page 49. They listen again to underline all the
examples of body language that are mentioned, and what they are supposed to mean.
Afterwards, go through the answers with the class.
Suggested answers
• scratching nose = lying
• crossing legs = unimpressed
• frowning, crossing arms and legs, sighing = not happy
• not giving good eye contact, moving about in seat, nodding, touching face = you
should be suspicious
• arms and legs crossed = ‘closed’, negative body language
7 Trainees work alone to complete the matching exercise and then compare their answers in
pairs. When you go through the answers with the class, ask volunteers to demonstrate the
body language from the sentences. Discuss with the class whether everyone agrees with
the analysis.
Extension activity
Discuss with the class whether the examples of body language have the same meanings
in their own cultures. You could also elicit more examples of body language, especially
body language used in their own culture that may be understood by people from
different cultures.

8 Trainees discuss the pictures and responses in pairs or groups of three. They then check their
ideas in the commentary on page 64. Finally, discuss any disagreements or surprises with
the class.
Write the following words on the board while trainees are discussing exercise 8. Elicit the
meanings of all the words from the class. Note that they are mostly abstract concepts, so
it may be easier to discuss the meanings of the related verbs (e.g. to accept, to deceive)
or adjectives (e.g. aggressive, bored). Trainees then work in pairs to identify which
word describes which picture from exercise 8. Then discuss the suggested answers with
the class.
acceptance impatience
aggression indecision
boredom resistance
deception scepticism
dissatisfaction stress
hostility tiredness
immovability uncertainty
Suggested answers
1 dissatisfaction
2 scepticism
3 acceptance
4 immovability
5 hostility
6 impatience
7 tiredness
8 uncertainty
9 stress
10 resistance
11 boredom
12 aggression
13 indecision
14 deception
Trainees test each other in pairs by demonstrating examples of body language from the
pictures. Their partners should try to read their body language and choose an appropriate
phrase, ideally without looking at page 86. Allow plenty of flexibility in trainees’ answers –
they do not have to use exactly the same words as on page 86. Afterwards, give and elicit
feedback on the responses to body language.

International
Negotiations
Trainer’s Notes
4B The proposal stage
Quote
Trainees read the quote to identify the key decision in a negotiation and Tim Hindle’s most
important advice.
Answers
• The key decision is whether to speak first.
• The advice is to summarise the other party’s proposal rather than respond immediately.
1 Trainees discuss the four questions in small groups. After a few minutes, open up the
discussion to include the whole class. Then tell trainees to compare their answers with the
commentary on page 65.
Extension activity
Use the commentary to generate four mini-discussions.
1 What is anchoring? Do the benefits of anchoring outweigh the disadvantages of
going first?
2 What three examples of power relationships are given? Do you agree with the
analysis?
3 In what way is a negotiation like a poker game? What does a ‘poker face’ look like?
4 What trick do devious negotiators use? Would you ever use this trick?
Answers
1 Anchoring involves setting the parameters for the rest of the negotiation.
2 A buyer–seller situation, where the buyer usually has the power; a joint venture
negotiation, where the bigger partner has the power; a salary negotiation, where your
boss has the power.
3 Because you don’t want the other party to know too much too soon about what you
want and don’t want! If you have a ‘poker face’, it is impossible for others in the game
to know what you are thinking.
4 They deliberately misinterpret the terms offered by the other party.

2 1.14 Trainees read the instructions. Check they have understood by asking which team
they represent (Étoile Avions). Trainees then work in pairs to check they understand the
vocabulary in the notes and to predict what the missing information might be. Make sure
trainees know not to worry about getting all the information at this stage. Play the recording
for trainees to complete their notes, then check their answers on page 65.
Language notes
• If you have a stake in a company, you own part of it. If you have a majority stake, you
own more than 50%.
• R&D stands for research and development.
• A plant is another name for a factory.
• Working capital is a measure of a business’s liquidity, i.e. the amount of cash (and assets
that can be turned into cash quickly) which it has available. A business which has most
of its money tied up in buildings and equipment has low liquidity. Without working
capital, the business may have problems paying suppliers, bills and wages on time.
• The fuselage is the main body of an aircraft.
• A memorandum of understanding is a written agreement between two parties, setting
out what they have agreed, which is intended not to be legally enforceable as a
contract. A provisional memorandum is one that will be finalised later.
3 Trainees discuss the question with a partner. Note that the purpose here is not to get all the
answers correct, but to identify suitable things to ask about, so avoid checking the answers at
this stage.
4 1.15 Go through the three points with the class to make sure everyone understands all the
vocabulary. Then play the recording for trainees to complete their notes. They discuss their
answers in pairs, including the three points from exercise 4, and then share their answers with
the class.
Language notes
• Retooling involves replacing the tools and machines in a factory.
• If you offset a cost, you balance it with income from elsewhere.
5 1.16 Play the recording for trainees to answer the questions. They compare notes in pairs
Extension activity
Ask trainees to look at the audio scripts on page 49. They listen to the three recordings
again to underline examples of would, in order to identify any patterns in the way it
is used (e.g. which negotiator uses would more often and in which situation?). They
should also underline other phrases the negotiators used to talk about what they want
or don’t want. Afterwards, trainees discuss their answers in pairs, including any patterns
they noticed.

Suggested answers
The main pattern is that both negotiators are careful to avoid making a commitment
about what will happen. Also, when checking, Lamarre is careful to avoid commenting on
the proposals. For these reasons, they both use very hypothetical structures, mainly would,
in almost every sentence.
• Randall uses would a few times during the proposal (... the best way to do this would
be ... ; ... Goldstream USA would take ... ; And we’d like to work with ... ; R&D would be
carried out ... ; ... the marketing and launch budget would be shared ...) and to answer
Lamarre’s requests for clarification (We would, of course, be financing ... ; We would
obviously have to agree ... ; ... Goldstream would cover that cost, but you would retain
full control ...)
• Other phrases Randall uses to avoid making a commitment included: ... what we’re
proposing is ... ; ... we’re particularly interested in ... ; What we envisage is ... ; The
important thing at this stage is for us to ... ; Our reason for requiring a majority stake in
the venture is ...
• Lamarre uses would frequently to check understanding: ... research and development
would remain in the USA. ; Did you say Goldstream would be willing ... ; ... you would
then take part-ownership ... ; This new aircraft would be developed by you ... ; ... the
expansion of which you would fund. ; We would retain ownership ... ; ... you would
continue to order the engines ...
• Other phrases Lamarre uses to check understanding without expressing an opinion
include: ... what you’re looking for is ... ; OK, so what we’re looking at is ...
• Lamarre uses would in almost every sentence of the counter-proposal (after the
introductory sentences): We would prefer to operate on the basis of ... ; So, what we’d
like to suggest is ... ; We’d also like to see ... ; ... we would have no direct involvement ... ;
... we would need to be satisfied that ... ; ... the quality we would expect ...
6 Trainees work in pairs to add the expressions to the diagram. Make sure they realise that the
expressions Now, in terms of ... in mind and OK, so what ... where you stand? both have two
parts. You could play the recordings again for trainees to check, or simply go through the
answers with the class. If you do use the recording to check, make sure trainees know that the
expressions are not in exactly the same order as they appear in the exercise.
Extension activity
For each of the 20 expressions from the diagram, elicit from the class onto the board
the two most important words from each expression. For example, for the first two
expressions, you could write basically/proposing and keen/partner. Trainees then close
their books. They work in pairs or groups of three to test each other by reading one of the
two-word summaries to elicit the whole expression from their partners.
7 Distribute copies of the feedback form (see page 110 and www.cambridge.org/elt/
internationalnegotiations) and go through the forms with the class to make sure everyone
knows what to focus on during the role play. Then divide the class into groups of four, and
divide each group into two teams. Trainees then read the background information for the
two negotiations. Note that if you decide to run the two negotiations in sequence (i.e. all
of negotiation 1 followed by all of negotiation 2), you will need to make sure you have a
separate task (e.g. revision exercises) for one team to do while the other team is planning
their counter-proposal.
Alternatively, you could run the two negotiations in parallel, as in the table below. If
necessary, the counter-proposals could take place in a later lesson, in which case, it might be
better to have larger groups (e.g. teams of three) in case not all the trainees come to the next
lesson. Monitor carefully during the negotiations, both for language and for the effectiveness
of the proposals, checking and counter-proposals. At the end, give and elicit feedback.

Speakers 1 and 2 Speakers 3 and 4

5 minutes Prepare for negotiation 1. Prepare for negotiation 2.
10 minutes Present the proposal for negotiation 1. Listen to the proposal for negotiation
Respond to the other team’s 1 and take notes.
summary of the proposal. Summarise to check understanding.
10 minutes Listen to the proposal for negotiation Present the proposal for negotiation 2.
2 and take notes. Respond to the other team’s
Summarise to check understanding. summary of the proposal.
10 minutes Time out to prepare the counter- Time out to prepare the counter-
proposal for negotiation 2. proposal for negotiation 1.
10 minutes Listen to the counter-proposal for Present the counter-proposal for
negotiation 1 and take notes. negotiation 1.
Summarise to check understanding. Respond to the other team’s
summary of the counter-proposal.
10 minutes Present the counter-proposal for Listen to the counter-proposal for
negotiation 2. negotiation 2 and take notes.
Respond to the other team’s Summarise to check understanding.
summary of the counter-proposal.
10 minutes Trainees use feedback forms to give feedback to each other.
If you don’t have a multiple of four trainees, you could add an extra one or two trainees
to some groups (so there are teams of 2+3 or 3+3). The most difficult class sizes are three
trainees (= 2+1) and seven (= 3+4).
Background information
See http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/1997/aug97/msmacpr.mspx for some
background to the Microsoft – Apple negotiation.
See http://www.carmag.co.za/article/more-details-of-toyota-peugeot-world-car-
deal-2001-07-13 for some background to the Toyota – PSA Peugeot Citroën deal.

International
Negotiations
Trainer’s Notes
5A Questioning techniques
Quote
Trainees read the quote to find three adjectives to describe good questioning techniques,
and two benefits of asking questions. Discuss the answers with the class.
Answers
• Questioning should be well-practised, thorough and appropriate.
• The benefits are that you will get information and you will stimulate an open exchange
of views.
1 Trainees discuss the questions in small groups and then feed back to the class.
2 Trainees discuss the question in small groups. Point out that their discussion should include six
points: the pros (advantages) of questions a, b and c, and the cons (disadvantages) of each
question. They should also discuss how one version might be more appropriate depending on
the circumstances. After a few minutes, open up the discussion to include the whole class.
Finally, tell trainees to read the commentary on page 65 to compare it with their ideas, and
discuss any differences with the class.
3 Trainees work in pairs to rephrase the questions. When you check with the class, discuss
whether everyone agrees that the open questions are better and why. You may need to
check that everyone understands the grammar of question h, where was is part of a second
conditional structure, used to hypothesise about an unlikely or impossible situation. Note also
that question f includes an indirect question, i.e. the question (Why wouldn’t a letter of credit
be acceptable?) is embedded inside a larger question (May I ask ...?) in order to make it sound
less aggressive. The embedded question has the same word order as a sentences (... a letter of
credit wouldn’t be acceptable).
Background notes
• A letter of credit is a financial instrument which may be used to pay for goods or services,
especially where payment in cash would be inconvenient or impossible. See http://www.
businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1084536269&type=RESOURCES.
• Sale-or-return means that a distributor/retailer agrees to stock and sell a product. If the
product fails to sell, the distributor/retailer can simply return the product to the supplier
at no cost. This enables the distributor/retailer to experiment with new products
without the risk of having to buy stock which may not sell.

Extension activity
If you think trainees may have problems with word order for questions, when you go
through the answers to exercise 3, write the questions on the board using the following
table. Use the table to show how most (but not all) questions in English follow the
same pattern.
Question word Auxiliary verb Subject Main verb Rest of question

How do you feel about the revised
delivery schedule?
What assurances can you give us that our order will
be given priority?
... what progress have we made so far?
How well do the product meet your requirements?
specifications
How flexible can you be on the unit price?
– May I ask why a letter of
credit wouldn’t be
acceptable?
In what might you be prepared to
circumstances consider including
maintenance?
... how would that change things?
4 Trainees discuss the questions in pairs and then share their ideas with the class. Trainees then
5 1.17 Go through the questions with the class. Then play the recording. Trainees discuss
the questions in pairs before feeding back to the class. Finally, trainees read the commentary
on page 66 to compare it with their ideas, and discuss any differences with the class.
Extension activity
Write the following words and phrases on the board. Elicit from the class which of the
three extracts they refer to, and what was said in the commentary about each of them.
deadlock
give away her own position
giving a straight answer
hostile
overdo
pins her down
rigid
Answers
• Extract 1: The questions are very rigid and closed; there is a hostile atmosphere; the
negotiation has reached deadlock.
• Extract 2: The questioner pins her opponent down by asking a closed question.
• Extract 3: Answering a question with another question allows the questioner to avoid
giving away her own position; however, it is important not to overdo this because it
may give the impression you’re avoiding giving a straight answer.

6 Go through the rules of the game on page 88 with the class. You may want to act out the
first dialogue with a volunteer as an example. Make sure they realise that they can continue
each dialogue beyond the two questions given – this should generate some very humorous
dialogues. Allow plenty of time for the game. Afterwards, go through the questions with the
class, and ask some pairs to act out their extended dialogues for the class. Students compare
their questions with those in the key on page 66. Finally, discuss with the class how useful this
technique is, and at what stage it feels as if they are overdoing it.
If you have an odd number of trainees, you will need to have a group of three, where trainees
take turns to ask the first question in each dialogue.
7 Trainees work alone to complete the questions. When you go through the questions with the
class, make sure trainees know that not all What sort of ...? questions end in a preposition. You
could elicit some more examples of What sort of ...? questions and write them on the board,
e.g. What sort of price can you offer? What sort of quantity did you have in mind?
8 Trainees work alone to match the answers to the questions. They check in pairs before feeding
back to the class.
9 Trainees work in pairs to underline the examples. When you check with the class, you could
elicit some more examples of approximate language, e.g. no more than, at least, something
like, say, somewhere between, around, as low as possible, the sooner the better, rather less
than that.
Extension activity
Trainees work in pairs of groups of three to test each other by asking one of the questions
from exercise 7 to elicit a suitable answer, with an approximate figure. The answer could
be the same as the one in exercise 8, or the trainees could invent their own.
10 Trainees work alone to complete the questions and then check in pairs. When you check with
the class, elicit the rules for the three structures (see Language notes below).
Language notes
Here are some important patterns with the three structures:
• Would rather + infinitive without to: I’d rather arrange my own insurance.
• Would rather + subject + past: I’d rather you paid in euros.
• Would prefer + to-infinitive: I’d prefer to arrange my own insurance.
• Would prefer (+ it) + if + subject + past: I’d prefer (it) if you paid in euros.
• Would be happier + verb + -ing: I’d be happier arranging my own insurance.
• Would be happier + if + subject + past: I’d be happier if you paid in euros.
• Would be happier + with: I’d be happier with euros.
11 Divide the class into pairs or groups of three. If you have printed out game boards, distribute
them now. Make sure every group also has coins to use as counters and as dice. Go through
the instructions very carefully to make sure everyone understands. Allow at least ten minutes
for the game. If some groups finish earlier than others, they can go back to any squares
they jumped over during the game to ask and answer the questions. Afterwards, discuss any
problems with the class using the answer key on pages 66 and 67.

International
Negotiations
Trainer’s Notes
5B Questioning techniques
Quote
Trainees read the quote to find three benefits to asking questions and one possible
problem. Discuss the answers with the class.
Answers
• Benefits: You can clarify any points that are critical to the negotiation; asking questions
gives you time to think; it acts as an excellent alternative to disagreement.
• Possible problem: the other party may be reluctant to spend time elaborating.
1 Trainees discuss the question in pairs and then share their ideas with the class. They then
read the commentary on page 67 to identify another reason for using questions (if you are
negotiating in a foreign language, it helps avoid misunderstandings).
2 1.18 Go through the example with the class. Trainees then work in pairs or groups of
three to make clarifying questions. Then play the recording for trainees to check. Discuss any
differences with the class.
Language notes
• A deferred payment is one that comes later than usual.
• A penalty clause is part of a contract which states what the penalty is if one party fails
to fulfil its obligations. In most English-speaking countries, penalty clauses are non-
enforceable, i.e. a court will not force the breaching party to pay. To avoid this problem,
it is important to avoid even mentioning penalty clauses in a negotiation, and to use
liquidated damages clauses instead, whose aim is to compensate rather than punish.
• Product specs /speks/, or specifications, include things like dimensions, weight,
materials, functions, etc..
• A breakdown of costs is an analysis of all the elements that contribute to the total cost.
Extension activity
Trainees test each other by reading one of the issues from exercise 2 to elicit a suitable
clarification from their partner, whose book is closed.
3 1.19 Go through the instructions carefully with the class, and if necessary discuss the first
question with the class as an example. Then play the recording. Trainees discuss their answers
in pairs, including how they were able to decide, and then feed back to the class. Trainees
then look at the commentary on page 67 to find out how disapproval is communicated
(by stress and intonation). You could ask volunteers to read the two sample questions aloud
(Was that at four percent interest? Sorry, did you say a waiver of the licence fee?), first with a
neutral tone and then with a disapproving tone.

4 Trainees work in pairs to decide which word(s) to stress in each question. Afterwards, discuss
the answers with the class. Point out that there are several possible answers.
Possible answers (with explanations in brackets)

a Did you say you need three more months to complete the project? (We’ve already
extended the deadline once, and now you want to do it again?)
Did you say you need three more months to complete the project? (I thought we
agreed two.)
b Was that a surcharge of thirty percent? (We weren’t expecting more than ten
percent.)
Was that a surcharge of thirty percent? (We understood it would be thirty dollars.)
c So you’re still not happy with the price? (I thought we’d agreed on that.)
So you’re still not happy with the price? (I thought the main problem was the
delivery date.)
d Sorry, how much is delivery going to cost? (Did you just say five euros per item?)
Sorry, how much is delivery going to cost? (You keep talking about the benefits of
your delivery service, but I need to know how much you charge.)
e So it won’t be ready until March? (It was supposed to be ready in December.)
So it won’t be ready until March? (We were hoping to have it installed and tested
by March.)
f And that’s as high as you can go? / And that’s as high as you can go? (Your offer
sounds very low to me.)
And that’s as high as you can go? (Or as low as you’re willing to go?)
5 1.20 You may decide to ask a volunteer to read the first question aloud in the three ways
for the class as an example. Trainees then work in pairs or groups of three to practise asking
the questions. To add a challenge, they should not tell their partner which version they are
trying to perform (i.e. neutral, disapproval, outrage), so their partner can guess. Then play the
recording for trainees to compare it with their versions. Discuss any differences (i.e. in choice
of which words to stress) with the class. Finally, discuss with the class whether it is useful/
acceptable to express disapproval or outrage in this way.
6 1.21 Go through the example with the class. Trainees then work in pairs or groups of three
to query the statements. Play the recording and discuss any differences with the class.
7 1.22 Trainees read the instructions and questions in pairs to predict what the Japanese
negotiator might say about dramatic pauses. Then play the recording for trainees to answer
the questions. They compare their answers in pairs before feeding back to the class. You could
also discuss with the class why silence is a hard argument to counter (= to deal with, to fight
against).
8 Trainees work alone to put the question signals in order, and then compare their answers in
pairs before feeding back to the class.
Extension activity
Write the first and last words of each question signal on the board (e.g. May ... that?).
Trainees close their books and try to remember the complete questions.


internationalnegotiations) and go through them with the class to make sure everyone
understands what they need to focus on. Divide the class into groups of four, and each group
into two teams. Allow at least ten minutes for each team to familiarise themselves with the
information and to plan how best to present the arguments. Monitor carefully to make sure
everyone understands all the vocabulary. Note that key terms such as slotting fees and above-
the-line advertising are explained in the texts.
When everyone is ready, make sure everyone knows how the role play will run: first, BSA will
make a proposal. Then J-Mart will ask lots of questions to clarify the proposal. Next, J-Mart
will make a counter-proposal. Finally, BSA will ask questions. Each of these stages should take
around ten minutes, adding up to around 40–45 minutes. The actual negotiation will not
take place during this role play (although of course you may decide to allow the role plays to
continue if they are going well).
Monitor carefully during the negotiation for the effectiveness of the language and techniques
used. At the end, trainees use the forms to give each other feedback. Finally, give and elicit
feedback from the class.

International
Negotiations
Trainer’s Notes
6A Exploring interests
Quote
Trainees read the quote to find two things that negotiators need to do. Check that
everyone understand the meaning of probing questions (= questions which focus on
finding out more details).
Answer
Ask probing questions and then listen.
1 Trainees discuss the four questions in small groups. After a few minutes, open up the
discussion to include the whole class. You could discuss how the advice here relates to the
advice from Module 1A exercise 7, that it can sometimes be appropriate to interrupt people
(see Background notes below).
Background notes
According to Module 1A exercise 7, we should interrupt people from People cultures
immediately if we need to, and people from Fact cultures politely and seldom. This
advice relates to the negotiation as a whole, and the difficult balance between keeping
to an agenda and spending time building relationships. The advice in Module 6A relates
primarily to the technique of exploring interests: never interrupt while the other person is
answering your probing question about interests.
Extension activity
Trainees read the commentary on page 67 to answer these questions. Use the follow-up
questions to generate four mini-discussions based on trainees’ own experience.
1 What five things should negotiators not do when asking probing questions? Do you
agree with the advice?
2 Apart from not speaking, how else can you avoid interrupting? Give examples from
your own experience.
3 What does the commentary mean by counter-balancing? Can you think of an example?
4 What three listening techniques are mentioned in the commentary? Are there any
active listening techniques that you should avoid?

Suggested answers
1 Don’t indicate why you’ve asked each probing question; don’t interrupt; don’t give
away your reactions to the information you are given; don’t be embarrassed about
asking a question with a seemingly obvious answer or asking the same question twice;
don’t draw any conclusions until you are sure you’ve heard the whole answer and fully
understood it.
2 By indicating by your body language that you might be about to interrupt. Possible
examples include nodding quickly, opening your mouth as if to speak, taking a sharp
intake of breath, holding up your hand to indicate ‘stop’, etc.
3 Saying something positive to balance the negative thing that has been said. For
example, the speaker says that her company is absolutely unable to offer maintenance,
but that they are prepared to cover the costs of maintenance conducted by a third
party.
4 Keep fairly steady eye contact with the speaker; repeat the key points in your head;
take brief notes. Some other well-known active listening techniques may not be
suitable for negotiations: making ‘agreeing noises (‘OK, uh-huh’), nodding, repeating
key phrases and asking checking questions. In each case, there is a danger of
interrupting the speaker or indicating agreement.
2 Go through the instructions with the class. You may need to elicit some useful phrases for
asking for clarification, asking follow-up questions and summarising (these functions are
covered in Modules 4B exercise 6, 5A and 5B exercise 8). See Extension activity below for
some examples. Trainees then work in pairs to practise their listening skills.
If you have an odd number of trainees, the activity will work just as well in groups of three,
where there are two listeners for each speaker. As the aim here is to practise the skill of
listening effectively, trainees will actually get more practice in a group of three.
Extension activity
Before trainees complete exercise 2, write the following phrases on the board. Elicit from
the class the function of each phrase: asking for clarification, asking follow-up questions or
summarising.
1 So, what sort of figure were you thinking of?
2 So as I understand it ...
3 Under what circumstances maintenance might you be prepared to consider ...?
4 May I ask you a question about that?
5 So, let me just get this straight.
6 Could you just clarify one thing for me?
Answers
Asking for clarification: 4, 6
Asking follow-up questions: 1, 3
Summarising: 2, 5
3 Trainees discuss each other’s summaries.
4 Trainees discuss the question in pairs. After a few minutes, open up the discussion to include
the whole class.

5 Tell trainees to cover page 24. Trainees read the beginning of the story and discuss possible
solutions in small groups. Note that the book is very well known, so some trainees may already
know the solution, in which case ask them to keep quiet for now while the others try to work
it out. After a few minutes, open up the discussion to include the whole class, but avoid
presenting the solution at this stage. You may need to check the meaning of the vocabulary
in the story.
Language note
Quarrelling and bickering both mean arguing, but the words are most commonly used for
the way children argue over toys, so they suggest a level of childishness on the part of the
two men.
6 Trainees read the next part of the story on page 91 and continue their discussion in small
groups. You may need to check the meaning of draught (British English, American English
draft = cold air blowing through a window or door).
7 Trainees read the solution on page 106. They discuss their reactions to it and then share
their ideas with the class. Try to focus the discussion on the problem-solving technique, i.e.
how can this solution be applied to other negotiations? (See Suggested answer below).
You could also elicit whether any other solutions are possible (e.g. open the window and sit
further away from it; turn the heating down).
Suggested answer
The key to this solution is to stop arguing about what each side wants, and to ask
questions to find out why they want it. There are three general rules for negotiations that
emerge from this story: firstly, ask, don’t argue. Secondly, focus on why, not what. Thirdly,
sometimes a neutral third party can help a solution to be found.
8 1.23 Trainees work in pairs to predict what the missing information might be. Then play
the recording for trainees to complete the notes. They compare their answers in pairs before
feeding back to the class. Refer them to the completed diagram in the key on page 68.
9 Trainees discuss the question in pairs and then with the class.
Extension activity
Trainees look at the four pictures on page 68, but do not read the commentary yet. They
discuss in pairs what the connection might be between the four pictures and the question
about interests and positions. They then read the commentary to check their ideas.
10 1.24 Trainees read the notes to predict in pairs how each term might be defined. Then
play the recording for trainees to check. They compare notes in pairs before feeding back to
the class. You could draw attention to the terms win–win and win–lose in the commentary on
page 68. These terms are explored fully in Module 7A.
Extension activity
Trainees look at the audio script on page 51 to identify the humorous names for the three
basic styles, and what they mean. Then elicit from the class some real-life examples from
their own experience (or well-known examples from films, current affairs, etc.) of the three
basic styles.
Answers
The ‘go-ahead-punk-make-my-day’ school of negotiation (i.e. if you use your gun, I’m
happy to use mine too); the ‘whatever-you-say-darling’ school of negotiation (i.e. I’ll follow
your orders because our relationship is more important than anything else); the ‘we-can-
work-it-out’ approach (i.e. we can find a solution).

Background note
The line Go ahead, make my day comes from the 1983 American film Sudden Impact,
and is spoken by San Francisco police detective ‘Dirty’ Harry Callahan (played by the actor
Clint Eastwood) in a high-stakes negotiation involving a hostage and guns. He frequently
calls villains punk (= American English slang for ‘a worthless human being’) as a term of
abuse. We can work it out is the name of a song by the British 1960s band, The Beatles.

internationalnegotiations) and go through them so that everyone knows what to focus on
in the negotiation. Divide the class into groups of three and allocate roles. Allow around five
minutes for speakers 1 and 2 to read their roles on pages 91 and 106 to plan what they will
say. The third trainee reads both roles. Make sure everyone understands the key vocabulary
from their notes (e.g. to take the credit for somebody’s work). When everyone is ready,
trainees role play the negotiation. Monitor carefully during the role plays, and be ready to
provide feedback on the effectiveness of the techniques from this module. After around ten
minutes, stop the negotiations, and tell trainees to give each other feedback. Then, discuss
the outcome of the negotiation with the class, including your own feedback.
If you don’t have a multiple of three trainees, you could have one or two groups of two, with
no observer.
Trainees read the possible solution in the commentary on page 68 to compare it with
their own solutions. Use these questions to focus the discussion.
1 How acceptable would it be for Speaker 1 (the boss) to play the role of mediator in
your culture?
2 Do you agree with the analysis of the two parties’ interests?
3 Look at the suggested five-point solution. Do you think both sides compromise in any
way? Who compromises more?
4 Do you think this is the best solution? What would you do about Dr Jimenez’s
suggested improvements?
5 In your culture, how much power does a subordinate have in a negotiation with his/
her boss? Would it be better for the boss simply to be able to impose his/her solution?
Elicit from the class some other examples of seemingly intractable problems, where both
sides have radically different positions. These examples could come from real life, the
news (business or, if you are careful, politics), etc. Trainees then work in pairs or groups of
three to role play negotiations to try to resolve the problems using principled negotiation.
Note that even if a solution proves impossible, they should at least try to identify the other
party’s interest, not just their position. Monitor carefully, and give and elicit feedback at
the end.

International
Negotiations
Trainer’s Notes
6B Exploring interests
Quote
Trainees read the quote to find a common mistake that people make and some advice
for those people. Discuss the answers with the class. You could also check that everyone
understands the word fold (= quit, give up – a term from the card game Poker) and timid
(= nervous, the opposite of brave).
Answers
• Mistake: quit too soon.
• Advice: keep asking.
1 Trainees discuss the question in small groups. After a few minutes, open up the discussion to
include the whole class.
Extension activity
Write the following words on the board and check everyone understands them.
Trainees work in pairs to predict how the words relate to the quote. They then read the
commentary on page 69 to check.
keeping the door open
persistent
gender
high-context cultures
aggressive
reluctant
Suggested answers
• Questions are good for keeping the door open (= creating new opportunities to find
areas of agreement).
• How persistent you should be when asking questions (= how long you should keep
asking, even if the other person doesn’t want to answer) is both a cultural issue and a
gender one (= it depends on whether you are dealing with men or women).
• In high-context cultures (= cultures where creating and preserving relationships is
particularly important), asking too many questions can be seen as aggressive (= hostile).
• Women are generally more reluctant (= hesitant, unwilling) to ask for what they want in
case they get a negative response.

2 1.25 Trainees read the questions and work in pairs to predict what the three negotiators
might say about them. Then play the recording. Trainees discuss their answers in pairs
before feeding back to the class. Finally, tell trainees to read the commentary on page 69 to
compare it with their answers.
Language note
In this context, soft is seen as a positive word: soft selling (= selling by asking lots of
questions) is an effective sales technique. In Module 6A (exercise 10), soft is used in
a negative sense: soft negotiating (= putting agreement at all costs before your own
interests) is a poor technique.
Extension activity
Write the following questions on the board. Trainees discuss in pairs what they can
remember about the answers, and then listen again to check. They discuss again in pairs
1 What examples of questions does the American negotiator use? What do you notice
about these questions?
2 What does the Chinese negotiator say about directness and indirectness?
3 What three stages in the negotiation, each at different times, does the German
negotiator mention?
Answers
1 The first question (OK, well, if there was a way to make it less expensive, then you’d
be more interested, right?) uses hypothetical language (if + past, would) to encourage
the other person to express an interest in the product. The question isn’t really a
question, just a statement with right? at the end. The second question (All right, so
what else concerns you?) is a very open question, designed to get the other person
talking as openly as possibly.
2 Chinese people are direct in the sense that they say what they want, in both their
offers and their counter-offers. But they try to find out what the other person wants
indirectly, by reading between the lines.
3 First, the parties provide all the details and figures before the meeting. Then they meet
to ask lots of questions about the information, to make sure nothing has changed. The
bargaining phase comes much later.
3 Trainees read the extract to identify the main point about how to be persuasive. They discuss
the question in pairs, as well as the follow-up question about their own experiences, and then
share their ideas with the class.
4 1.26 Trainees go through the six conversations in pairs to identify and make sure they
understand the first four elements in each. You may need to do the first one as an example
with the class:
1 The inflexible position is that the price is too high.
2 The question focuses on the lack of flexibility, rather than the price itself.
3 The interest is to stay within the annual budget.
4 The interest-based option is to defer payment.
Trainees then work in pairs to replace the phrases in bold. Finally, go through the answers
with the class.

Answers
Conversation b: The inflexible position is that suppliers are never given exclusivity. The
question focuses on the reason for this rule, rather than asking about exceptions. The
interest is to encourage suppliers to compete for business. The interest-based option is to
keep this competition by limiting the exclusivity period and reviewing it regularly.
Conversation c: The inflexible position is a refusal to commit to a large order. The question
focuses on the reason for the inflexibility. The interest is to avoid tying up too much
capital. The interest-based option is to stagger payments.
Conversation d: The inflexible position is that the price of custom printing is too high.
The question focuses on whether custom printing is the only solution. The interest is to
maintain brand identity by using the logo. The interest-based option is to use logo stickers.
Conversation e: The inflexible position is that the price is too high. The question focuses
on the reason for the problem. The interest is to have a simple system. The interest-based
option is to offer the old system.
Conversation f: The inflexible position is that the negotiator cannot go further. The
question focuses on what might get the customer to change his/her mind. The interest
is to match or improve on what the current supplier is offering. The interest-based option
is to change the focus from discounts (where there is no room for manoeuvre) to free
delivery (where there is some flexibility).
5 Trainees discuss the meaning of the phrases in italics. After a few minutes, discuss the answers
with the class. You could also discuss the importance of guessing meaning from context with
the class, as well as some of the dangers of guessing the meaning of a word where in fact it
would be safer to ask for clarification.
Extension activity
Trainees work in pairs to test each other on the phrases in exercise 4. One trainee uses
one of the first negotiator’s prompts. The second trainee, whose book is closed, tries to
respond as negotiator 2. Allow some flexibility in negotiator 2’s responses, but encourage
them to use as many of the useful phrases in bold as possible. Afterwards, they swap roles
and repeat the exercise.
third trainee also responds as negotiator 2, but using a different phrase from exercise 4.

what to focus on during the negotiation. Pay particular attention to the terms distributive and
integrative, which were explained in the commentary to exercise 9 of Module 6A. You could
remind trainees of the four pictures: a distributive negotiating style was illustrated with a tug
of war and a pie; an integrative style was illustrated with an x-ray and a jigsaw puzzle.
Go through the instructions with the class, making sure everyone fully understands the
meaning of remuneration package (= salary and other benefits that an employee receives).
Divide the class into pairs and allocate roles. Trainees then spend around ten minutes
familiarising themselves with their roles on pages 92 and 106 and planning how they will
negotiate. Monitor carefully to deal with any vocabulary problems. When everyone is ready,
start the role plays. Allow around ten minutes for the negotiations. At the end, trainees use
the forms to give each other feedback on the effectiveness of their techniques for exploring
interests. After a few minutes, open up the discussion to include the whole class. Share any
comments you have on the effectiveness of the trainees’ techniques.
If you have an odd number of trainees, use the spare trainee as a class monitor, to use the
feedback form to take notes on the role plays. At the end, ask this trainee to provide feedback
to the class on what went well and what opportunities were missed.

Language notes
• A commission is a payment received by a seller, calculated as a percentage of the
sales price.
• Dream on! means ‘you can forget about it – it’s just a dream!’
• A serial entrepreneur is a person who has started a series of business ventures.
Extension activity
Trainees go through the commentary on page 69 to check which of the six points they
managed to include in their own negotiations. Afterwards, discuss with the class which
pair included the most points, and whether there were any other points, in addition to
these six, that they identified.
7 1.27 Go through the instructions with the class. Play the first part of the recording, up to
the pause. Trainees then discuss in pairs what they would do in this situation. Elicit a range of
ideas from the class. Then play the rest of the recording for trainees to check.
Extension activity
Discuss the solution with the class in terms of how it fits in with the five stages from
exercise 4.
Suggested answers
• First negotiator takes an inflexible position: Five fifty. And that’s my final offer!
• Second negotiator probes with a question: Excuse me for asking, but why do you need
so many chocolate bars?
• First negotiator reveals the interest behind their position: They’re for my dogs ... But I’m
not paying seven pounds for dog treats.
• Second negotiator generates an interest-based option: ... I have a box of damaged ones
in the store room I can let you have for 15p each. Your dogs won’t mind, will they?
• First negotiator shows more flexibility: One happy customer, four happy Rottweilers ...

International
Negotiations
Trainer’s Notes
7A The bargaining zone
Quote
Trainees close their books. Read the quote aloud apart from the last word (In a successful
negotiation, everybody ...). Discuss with the class how the quote might end. Trainees then
look in their books to check.
include the whole class.
Extension activity
Trainees read the commentary on page 70 to find three names for this approach, one
criticism of it and one alternative approach.
Answers
• Names: ‘win–win’, ‘mutual gain’, the ‘Harvard method’.
• Criticism: it is an idealistic view.
• Alternative: a tougher ‘hardball’ approach to get exactly what you want.
Background note
The Harvard method is a reference to the Harvard Negotiation Project, (HNP), at Harvard
Law School, which is closely associated with the authors of the book Getting to YES,
Roger Fisher, William Ury and (for the second edition) Bruce Patton. See http://www.pon.
harvard.edu/category/research_projects/harvard-negotiation-project/.
2 2.02 Go through the questions with the class for trainees to predict what the two
negotiators will say about the question. Then play the recording for trainees to check their
predictions. They discuss their answers in pairs before feeding back to the class. Note that the
Russian negotiator refers to the outcome as a win–win solution. He is joking, as the bear is
indeed no longer hungry, because it is dead!
Extension activity
Write the following phrases on the board. Trainees work in pairs to decide which were
used by the Thai speaker and which by the Russian speaker. They should also try to
remember as much as possible of what they said about each phrase. Then play the
recording a second time for trainees to check. They discuss their answers again briefly in
be pushed around practical and determined the loser
land of the free rather independent tough negotiators
no real authority share your victory win–win solution
pay for your victories stand firm you win today

Answers
• Thai speaker: rather independent; land of the free; practical and determined; you win
today; pay for your victories; share your victory
• Russian speaker: be pushed around; no real authority; stand firm; the loser; tough
negotiators; win–win solution
3 Go through the instructions with the class. Tell trainees that the words and phrases are given
in the same order as they appear in the text. Trainees then read the article to find them
and to compare their answers in pairs. Afterwards, go through the answers with the class.
You could elicit from the class some real-life issues that have high value to one person in a
negotiation but which may cost the other person very little (e.g. the buyer may be dependent
on a very quick delivery. The seller may have spare capacity to meet that order quickly, and
may even be keen to deliver as quickly as possible, but may decide to use delivery time as a
variable in the negotiation.)
Language note
The structure at the end of the text, If you will ..., then I can ... is unusual but
grammatically correct. Most learners of English are taught that we never use will after if.
In fact, we often can use will after if, but it has a very specific meaning. In this case, it is a
way of referring to promises. Compare these two sentences:
• If you do X, then I’ll do Y (= first you do X, then I’ll do Y).
• If you’ll do X, I’ll do Y (= first you promise, then I’ll do Y, then you’ll do X).
include the whole class. Finally, tell trainees to read the commentary on page 70 to compare
the answers to b and c with their ideas.
5 Make sure everyone understands the meaning of your inheritance (= the things that you may
inherit from a relative when that relative dies) and at stake (= at risk if being lost). Trainees
read the instructions carefully so they fully understand what they have to do, including each
of the strict conditions. You may also need to check they understand the meaning of yet to
race (= it has never raced before).
Before they begin their negotiations, they should plan carefully which items they would prefer
to have. Ideally, they should write down this ‘wish-list’ so they can compare it with the end-
result later. Alternatively, they could discuss their wish-list with a different partner first, and
then go back to this first partner after the negotiation to discuss how well they did.
Allow around ten minutes for the negotiation. Monitor carefully both for language and for
good and bad strategies, particularly in the context of win–win negotiations. Afterwards,
discuss the results and the effectiveness of the negotiations with the class.
Language notes
• Grand cru /grã kry/ (or, to most English speakers, /grɒŋ kruː/) is the highest classification
of wine from the Burgundy and Alsace regions of France. The plural is grands crus.
• A yearling is a horse which is between 12 and 24 months old. At this age, horses are not
yet fully mature.
• Antiquarian /æntɪˈkweəriən/ books are valuable because they are very old and/or rare.
If you have an odd number of trainees, you will need to have one group of three. In this case,
it may be better to remove one of the nine items for this group, or add a tenth item (e.g.
a full-sized hot air balloon), in order that the total number of items does not divide neatly
among three people.
6 Trainees work alone to complete the diagram and then compare their answers in pairs. Make
sure they realise that the list of variables relates only to sales negotiations. When they have
finished, go through the answers with the class.

Background notes
• Volume business means very large orders or large numbers of orders.
• Payment terms define when and how goods should be paid for. For example, many
contracts between companies specify that goods must be paid for within 30 days or 60
days of delivery. Interest-free credit works in a similar way, where the customer borrows
money (often through a third party, such as a bank) to pay for goods, typically from
a retailer (a shop), which has a long-term agreement with that third party. In reality,
such loans are not really interest-free, but it is the retailer that pays the interest, not the
customer, so it feels free to the customer.
• An exclusivity clause is part of a contract that states that one or both parties may not
enter into a similar contract with a third party. For example, an exclusivity clause may
state that party A will be the only supplier or distributor of a particular product or
service in a particular geographical area, or that party B will not buy or distribute similar
products or services from third parties.
• Packaging includes cartons (boxes), bottles, plastic wrappers, etc. It may be
customised for individual customers by being a different size, colour or design from the
manufacturer’s normal packaging, or by including logos, text, images, etc.
• A penalty clause is a statement of the penalty that one party must pay if the other
party fails in its obligations. In many countries, penalty clauses are illegal. See
www.scotlawcom.gov.uk/download_file/view/101/127/.
• Fluctuations are changes in the value of something. Exchange rates fluctuate as one
currency becomes more expensive while another becomes cheaper. Because this
often leads to unpredictability and probably increased costs for one of the parties in
an international agreement, the parties may agree in advance how to handle such
fluctuations, e.g. which date’s exchange rate to use.
Extension activity
Trainees test each other in pairs or groups of three by reading the first word from a
variable (e.g. unit) to elicit the full variable (e.g. unit price) from his/her partner, whose
book is closed.
7 Trainees work in pairs to discuss the task. Allow some flexibility when you go through
the answers with the class: if trainees can justify their answers, and show that they fully
understand the words, this may be more valuable than simply getting the ‘correct answers’.
Extension activity
Elicit from the class which party, the buyer or the seller, would perform each action.
Suggested answers
• The seller might offer to cover transportation costs or exchange rate fluctuations.
• The seller quotes the unit price and a discount price.
• The seller may offer after-sales service, spare parts, free maintenance, (good) payment
terms and a 12-month guarantee.
• The seller might provide after-sales service, spare parts and free maintenance.
• The buyer or the seller might enforce an exclusivity clause or a penalty clause.
• The buyer might require after-sales service, spare parts, free maintenance, customised
packaging, interest-free credit and a 12-month guarantee.
• The buyer or the seller might require an exclusivity clause.

8 2.03 Go through the instructions with the class. Trainees listen to the extracts to complete
the task and compare answers in pairs before feeding back to the class. Note that extract 2
mentions 28 days, which could be taken as payment terms or delivery times. However, as
payment terms are mentioned in extract 7, assume that extract 2 deals with delivery times.
Extension activity
Write the following questions on the board. Point out that the numbers refer to the
extract numbers. Trainees discuss the questions in pairs to see how much they remember,
and then listen to the extracts again to check. They discuss their answers in pairs before
feeding back to the class.
1 Why did the first negotiator offer to reduce the price?
2 Under what circumstances does the second negotiator’s company pay compensation?
3 In the third negotiation, how much does the credit facility cost?
4 Why does the fourth negotiator offer to cover transport costs?
5 Why might the buyer in the fifth negotiation be exposed to changes in the value of the
yuan?
6 According to the sixth negotiator, how likely is it that the product will stop working in
the first year?
7 What two payment terms does the seventh negotiator offer?
8 What is the problem identified by the eighth negotiator?
Answers
1 Because he/she wants to do business with the customer again.
2 If there are any unavoidable delays.
3 Nothing – it’s free.
4 Because it’s such a large order.
5 Because the boxes are printed in China.
6 Very unlikely – it shouldn’t happen.
7 A 15% deposit followed by the balance in three months; the total sum in monthly
instalments over 18 months.
8 They would be locked into a contract for two years.
9 Trainees work in pairs or groups of three to discuss the pairs of statements. Make sure
everyone understands the meaning of tentative (= careful, indirect) and pushy (= aggressive,
direct). After a few minutes, open up the discussion to include the whole class. Focus on
the underlying reasons for the answers, and how these can be applied more generally (see
Language notes below).
Language notes
• The first sentence in a is a so-called ‘first conditional’ (if + present simple, will), which is
commonly used to talk about a realistic future possibility. Note that we do not normally
use will in the if-clause, but see the Language note after exercise 3 above. The second
sentence is a so-called ‘second conditional’ (if + past simple, would), which is commonly
used to talk about an unlikely or impossible future possibility. The choice between first
and second conditionals does not affect the basic meaning – both refer to something
which may happen in the future. The difference is that the first sentence describes
something that is more likely (and therefore that he/she would like it to happen) and
the second sentence describes something that is less likely (and therefore that he/she
may not want to happen).
• The same rules for conditionals work with other conjunctions, e.g. unless (= if not),
provided (that), assuming (that), as long as and given (that). In each case, we do not
normally use will/would in the clause introduced by the conjunction.

• In b and d, provided (that) and as long as are slightly more positive than if: they suggest
that the stated condition is the only thing preventing the deal.
• The first sentence in b sounds rather aggressive because it includes an imperative
(Include after-sales service).
• The second sentence in c in sounds like a threat because it is de-personalised (i.e. there
are no people in the sentence). The improved version is much better because it refers to
the idea that both parties are trying to reach a deal (I don’t see us reaching a deal).
• In e, Given (that) is used to introduce a known fact. The speaker could also use because
or since with the same meaning. Assuming (that) introduces a future possibility.
10 Trainees work alone to transform the two sentences. When you check with the class, elicit
which version sounds better: the tentative one or the more direct version.
11 Discuss this question with the class.
12
to focus on. Trainees then read the information on page 94. While they are reading, write the
letters H, I and T on the board. Then elicit from the class what the letters refer to.
Write the following abbreviations on the board: FOB, CFR, CIF. Elicit what they mean and
which is better for the buyer and which for the seller (see Background notes below).
Divide the class into pairs and allocate roles. Allow plenty of time (at least five minutes) for
trainees to familiarise themselves with the information about their roles. Monitor carefully to
make sure everyone understands all the information. Make sure everyone knows how many
coaches this deal involves (ten).
Allow at least twenty minutes for the negotiations. Monitor carefully for language and
techniques. Afterwards, trainees give each other feedback using the forms. They should also
go through the questions on page 107 to see how well they did. Then open up the discussion
to give your own feedback and to discuss the various deals that were reached.
If you have an odd number of trainees, you will need to have one group of three. In this
case, the third trainee is an observer. The observer reads both sets of information and then
monitors carefully to identify what the negotiators do well and what opportunities they miss.
Afterwards, the monitor gives detailed feedback to the negotiators.
Background notes
• FOB, CFR and CIF are all Incoterms, i.e. abbreviations used in international trade and
shipping. There are four recognised Incoterms for shipping:
FAS – Free Alongside Ship (i.e. the seller is responsible only for bringing the goods to
the ship)
FOB – Free on Board (i.e. the seller is responsible for loading the goods, or paying for the
goods to be loaded, onto the ship)
CFR – Cost and Freight (i.e. the seller must also pay the costs to bring the goods to the
port of destination)
CIF – Cost, Insurance and Freight (i.e. the seller must also pay for the insurance). For the
seller, the best options are FAS, then FOB, then CFR and finally CIF. For the buyer, CIF is
the best deal.
• The livery on a vehicle is the artwork that identifies it as serving a particular company
(colours, logos, name, etc.).

International
Negotiations
Trainer’s Notes
7B The bargaining zone
Quote
Read the quote aloud to the class. Trainees will discuss the question in exercise 1 and hear
the suggested answer in exercise 2.
1 Trainees discuss the question in pairs or small groups. After a few minutes, open up the
discussion to include the whole class. Avoid confirming or rejecting ideas at this stage. You
could also discuss with the class the opposite question: What is the best thing you can do to a
negotiator?
2 2.04 Play the recording for trainees to compare Professor Kennedy’s answer with their
own ideas. They discuss Kennedy’s answer in pairs before feeding back to the class.
Extension activity
Play the recording again for trainees to identify the four other behaviours that are to
be avoided, perhaps. Afterwards, discuss with the class how serious each of them is,
and whether the official answer (Accept his first offer) is really worse than these four
behaviours. Note that Kennedy is being deliberately provocative by choosing four very bad
behaviours and using words like perhaps to suggest that they are less bad than they really
are. He probably did not intend his comparison to be taken too seriously.
Answers
• Insult him.
• Get her annoyed.
• Go over her head to the boss.
• Make him look stupid.
3 Trainees read the article to answer the questions. They discuss their answers in pairs before
feeding back to the class. Make sure everyone also understands the basic meaning of the
words haggle (= argue back and forth, typically over a price), curse (= something that brings
bad luck, or causes bad things to happen, as if by magic) and remorse (= a powerful feeling of
guilt and regret for your past actions).
Extension activity
Write the following phrases on the board. Trainees work in pairs to remember what the
article said about each phrase, and to work out exactly what it means. Then go through
the answers with the class.
an offer you can’t refuse I wouldn’t move an inch
you owe it to yourself he couldn’t sign the papers fast enough
to fight for it a little to get out of the deal

Suggested answers
• an offer you can’t refuse: If you were aiming to get $500,000 for your house and your
opponent offers you $520,000, it may feel impossible to reject this offer.
• you owe it to yourself: You have a duty to think selfishly from time to time, and to get
the best possible deal.
• to fight for it a little: Your opponent will feel better if they have negotiated hard to get
the result they want.
• I wouldn’t move an inch: I refused to compromise at all.
• he couldn’t sign the papers fast enough: He was desperate to sign as quickly as possible.
• to get out of the deal: Your opponent will regret his/her decision and try to renegotiate
or cancel the contact.
4 2.05 Trainees listen to the recording to identify the style that is closest to their own, and
then discuss their ideas with a partner. Afterwards, discuss the three styles with the class, to
identify the advantages and disadvantages of each style.
Extension activity
Write the following questions on the board. Trainees work in pairs to try to remember the
answers, and then listen again to check. They discuss again in pairs before feeding back to
the class.
1 What exactly is the Neukundenrabatt?
2 What trick does the American speaker warn us not to fall for?
3 What, according to the Indian speaker, is ‘all part of the game’?
Answers
1 It is a special discount for new customers.
2 When negotiators say they can’t grant reductions without checking with their
boss first.
3 Throwing your hands up in horror at a low offer.
5 2.06 Go through the questions carefully with the class. Then play the recording. Trainees
discuss their answers in pairs before feeding back to the class.
Extension activity
Trainees read the commentary on pages 70 and 71 to identify six important techniques
used by the stallholder and one used by the customer. They then look through the audio
script on page 53 to identify examples of each technique. Trainees compare answers in
pairs and then with the class.

Answers
The stallholder’s six techniques are:
1 Ask the customer lots of questions to find out more about his interests (e.g. Is it a
present for someone?).
2 Change the subject while he’s thinking about whether to buy or not (e.g. On holiday
are you, you and your girlfriend?).
3 Emphasise the quality of the product and the bargain he’s getting (e.g. Solid silver as
well. Most of them are just plated. Feel the weight of it. It’s quite old too.).
4 Use emotion to try and persuade him (So she’s at home in Japan, is she? You’d better
take her something nice back then, hadn’t you?).
5 Add another variable to the deal to see if she can renew his interest (I’ll throw these
earrings in as well.).
6 Reinforce his commitment to the deal (e.g. You’ve got yourself a bargain there. I’m
sure your girlfriend will love it ...).
The customer’s best technique is to seem willing to walk away. (e.g. Sorry, can’t afford.
Thank you ...)
6 Trainees work in pairs to match the informal phrases with their formal equivalents. When you
go through the answers on page 71 with the class, elicit which version trainees would prefer
in their own negotiations.
Extension activity
Trainees test each other in pairs or groups of three. One trainee reads one of the informal
phrases to elicit the formal equivalent from their partner, whose book is closed. They
could also test each other on the informal phrases in the same way.
7 2.07 Make sure trainees notice that the middle boxes all contain dollar signs, so the
missing information is an amount in dollars. Play the recording for trainees to complete the
chart. They compare their answers in pairs and then check with the class.
Extension activity
Write the following questions on the board. Trainees work in pairs to try to remember the
answers. Then play the recording a second time for them to check. They compare answers
again in pairs before feeding back to the class.
1 Why would only a fool start with what they’re aiming for?
2 Why should you never let the other side know what you’ll settle for?
3 How does the trainer define the ‘reservation point’?
4 What two reasons does the trainer give for the buyer opening with an offer of
seven dollars?
5 In what way is the seller going into this negotiation much more aggressively than
the buyer?
Answers
1 Because they might be able to do better.
2 Because they’ll be only too happy to make you settle for it.
3 The least they’ll settle for.
4 It just might happen; it gives them room to negotiate.
5 By starting off high and setting a target quite near their reservation point.


to focus on in the role play. Make sure they also know not to turn the negotiation into a
haggling match. Note that if you have a fairly small class, you could bring some real objects
to represent the antiques (e.g. a mug to represent the tankard) or photos of antiques. This
will make the role play more realistic and add a physical element, where trainees can actually
move the objects (or photos) around during the role play.
Divide the class into pairs and assign roles. Monitor carefully while trainees are familiarising
themselves with their roles, to make sure they fully understand everything. Allow around
twenty minutes for the role plays. Monitor carefully for language and the effectiveness of the
skills from this module. At the end, trainees use the forms to give each other feedback. Open
up the discussion to include the whole class, to discuss the outcomes of the role plays and to
give your own feedback, focusing mainly on whether win–win outcomes were reached.
‘customer’ role becomes a pair of customers (e.g. a married couple). Afterwards, you could
discuss with the class whether it was easier or harder to negotiate as part of a team.

International
Negotiations
Trainer’s Notes
7C The bargaining zone
Quote
Trainees read the quote to find out what BATNA stands for, what you can do if your BATNA
is good and what happens when it is bad. Discuss the answers briefly with the class, but
avoid discussing the questions from exercise 1 at this stage.
Answers
Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement. If it is good, you can demand more from the
other party. If it is bad, you become highly motivated to create value.
include the whole class. Then tell trainees to read the commentary on page 71 to compare it
with their ideas, and to discuss any differences with the class.
Extension activity
Trainees read the commentary on page 71 to identify six options when you appear to
have no BATNA. They should then discuss which of these options are most and least
suitable for their own business situation. They should also find four useful phrases in the
commentary, and again discuss which of them they could use in their own negotiations.
Answers
The six options are:
1 Redesign your product not to require the component you currently need.
2 Design a similar component yourself.
3 Acquire your supplier.
4 Go to your competitors and agree with them that none of you will buy your supplier’s
component until they price it more reasonably. Note that this may not be legal in
many countries, as the commentary on page 71 points out.
5 Bluff – simply pretend you do have a BATNA.
6 Create value – introduce new issues into the negotiation to give you more influence or
‘leverage’.
Useful phrases
1 We don’t have to do a deal with you – we have other options.
2 OK, what we want to know is: can you offer us what we want? I have to tell you some
of your competitors have already said they can. But we’ve done business before. We
wanted to give you your chance.
3 We’d really like to reach a deal with you today, but, of course, if we have to, there are
other people we could speak to.
4 OK, I suggest you look elsewhere for a better deal.

7C The bargaining zone
2 Trainees read the background information to find out why neither side has a BATNA.
Suggested answers
The waiter/waitress has no real BATNA because the customer could simply refuse to hand
over a tip, in which case the waiter/waitress gets nothing. Similarly, the waiter/waitress
could refuse to give back the half banknote, in which case the customer gets nothing. The
main variable, the quality of the service, cannot be changed during the negotiation.
Make sure they all understand the word tip in this context, as well as phrases like to excuse
yourself (= to leave a meeting, etc., in order to go to the toilet), the red carpet treatment
(= treating somebody like a VIP – a very important person) and a flash of inspiration (= a good
idea that comes to you suddenly). You could also point out that in many countries, a torn
banknote can still be exchanged for a new note at a bank, as long as the two halves match.
Then distribute the feedback forms (see page 111 and www.cambridge.org/elt/
internationalnegotiations) and go through them with the class so that everybody understands
what they need to focus on during the negotiation. Divide the class into pairs and assign roles.
Monitor carefully while trainees are reading their role cards and help with any problems.
Allow five to ten minutes for the negotiation. Monitor carefully for language and techniques
used. At the end, trainees use the forms to give each other feedback. Then open up the
discussion to include the whole class, focusing on the tactics that different trainees used
during the negotiations and the outcomes reached. Finally, trainees read the commentary on
pages 71 and 72 to see how well they did. Discuss the commentary with the class.
If you have an odd number of trainees, one trainee can observe the negotiations using the
feedback form, and report back on the strengths and weaknesses of the negotiations.
3 2.08–2.10 Go through the instructions carefully with the class, making sure they
understand the key words such as upholstery (= the materials that are used inside the car,
e.g. to cover the seats), gasp (= a sharp intake of air to express surprise, etc.), sticking point (=
something which is preventing an agreement from being reached). Then play the extracts one
at a time, pausing after each extract for trainees to discuss the questions in pairs. They listen
a second time to check their answers before feeding back to the class. Trainees then read the
4 Trainees work alone to put the words in order. Tell them not to write their answers on their
books, but on a separate piece of paper (see Extension activity below). They compare their
answers in pairs before listening again to check. Finally, go through the answers with the class.
Extension activity
Tell trainees to cover their answers to exercise 4, then work in pairs to use the order form
and the mixed-up sentences to re-enact the whole negotiation, staying as close to the
original as possible. This will provide controlled practice of the phrases in exercise 4.
If you have an odd number of trainees, you will need to have one group of three trainees,
where the third trainee takes half of the sales representative’s turns.

internationalnegotiations) and go through it to make sure everyone understands what to
focus on in the role play. Then divide the class into pairs of teams and allocate roles to the
teams. The ideal size of each team is around three or four trainees. The teams then read
their notes together to plan their strategies. Allow plenty of time (around 10 minutes) for this
planning stage, as it is the main focus of the lesson. Monitor carefully to make sure everyone
understands all the information. When the teams are ready, start the negotiations, which
should take around 15 minutes. Monitor carefully for language and techniques.
At the end, trainees use the forms to give each other feedback. Then discuss the outcome of
the negotiations with the class and give your own feedback. Finally, tell trainees to read the
If you have a small class, the role play will work just as well with teams of one, but make sure
trainees spend plenty of time on the planning stage. If you have three trainees, the third
trainee could play the role of Jariya Mookjai, who reads the notes for Team 2.

International
Negotiations
Trainer’s Notes
8A Powers of persuasion
Quote
Read the first sentence aloud. Trainees then read the quote to find out what Kevin Hogan
means by change minds.
Answer
Get people to say yes when they otherwise would have said no.
1 Trainees discuss the question in small groups. After a few minutes, open up the discussion
to include the whole class. You could also elicit from the class onto the board some words
with special persuasive power that are used in advertising. Then tell trainees to read the
Background note
See http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003662.html for a history
of the Yale 12 list, which suggests that the list has nothing to do with Yale University.
However, even if the Yale connection is almost certainly fictitious, the persuasiveness of
these and similar words has been widely discussed. See, for example, the book Words that
Work by Dr Frank Luntz (http://www.hyperionbooks.com/book/words-that-work/).
Extension activity
Write the Yale 12 words (see commentary on page 73) on the board. Trainees work in
pairs to discuss why these particular words are so powerful, and whether their power
can be used in negotiations as well as in advertising. After a few minutes, open up the
discussion to include the whole class.
2 Make sure trainees know that Kevin Hogan was not talking about a seven-word sentence,
but seven words that can be used separately. After a few minutes, open up the discussion to
include the whole class. Then tell trainees to read the commentary on page 73 to compare
it with their ideas. You could also discuss with the class why the list of powerful words from
advertising is different from the list of powerful words and phrases for negotiations. Note that
the list of words for negotiations is more open-ended, perhaps because each negotiation has
to be tailored to the situation.
Background notes
• The photocopier experiment and the power of because are explained fully in the book
Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive by Noah Goldstein, Steve Martin and
Robert Cialdini.
• The importance of the word imagine is explained fully in Words that Work by Dr
Frank Luntz (see Background note above), where it comes top of the list of the most
powerful words.

Extension activity
Write the seven words on the board. Trainees work in pairs to remember as much as they
can about the words, without looking back at the commentary, and discuss why they think
they are so effective. After a few minutes, open up the discussion to include the whole class.
3 2.11 Trainees work in pairs to make the extracts more persuasive. Make sure they know
to use one or more of Hogan’s ‘words that change minds’ in each extract, and to make any
necessary changes in punctuation and word order. After you have played the recording,
discuss any alternative versions your trainees came up with.
4 Trainees work alone to complete the matching exercise. When you check with the class, make
sure everyone understands all the words by eliciting some other examples of each approach.
Note that example c is intended to be humorous, and would never be used in a negotiation.
5 Make sure everyone understands the words subordinate (= someone that is lower than you
in a hierarchy) and peer (= someone on the same level as you). Trainees then discuss the
question in pairs. After a few minutes, open up the discussion to include the whole class.
6 Trainees discuss the question in pairs and then share their ideas with the class. If trainees are
not yet involved in regular negotiations, they should imagine the type of negotiations that
they make take part in during their careers.
7 Trainees discuss the quote in pairs, using real-life examples where possible. Trainees then
8 Go through the instructions and the examples with the class. Elicit from the class a range of
auxiliary verbs and intensifying adjectives and adverbs (see Language notes below). Trainees
then work in pairs to make the statements more forceful. Discuss the answers with the class,
but avoid confirming suggestions until after exercise 9.
Language notes
• Auxiliary verbs are those which give grammatical information that is not given by the
main verb.
• Intensifying adjectives make the meaning of a noun stronger. They include words like
absolute, incredible, key, etc.
• Intensifying adverbs make the meaning of an adjective or another adverb stronger. They
include words like really, very, absolutely, etc.
• Note that intensifying adverbs often come after an unstressed auxiliary verb (e.g. That
would really help), but when the auxiliary is stressed, the adverb comes first (e.g. That
really would help).
9 2.12 Trainees listen to the recording to underline the words that are stressed, then check
answers on page 73. They then work in pairs to practise saying the sentences with the same
stress. Ask some volunteers to model their sentences to the class.
Extension activity
If you think trainees need more practice, you could repeat the activity with the sentences
from the answer key to exercise 3. Again, trainees have to add intensifiers and plan which
words to stress. Afterwards, ask some volunteers to model their sentences to the class.

Suggested answers
a Now, we really do need to finalise the terms of this deal today, if that’s OK with you,
Sonia.
b Please understand that we simply don’t normally offer free maintenance.
c Sonia, could you extend the credit period to ninety days because that really would
help our cash flow?
d Now, you can have absolutely whichever option you prefer. It really is up to you.
e OK, so you’re giving us the ninety days credit. Thank you very much. Now, can we look
at installation?
f Imagine: what you’ll really be getting with this system, Ian, is absolute complete peace
of mind.
g Can I get back to you on that because I really do need to clear it with the boss first?
OK?
10 2.13 Go through the example with the class, making sure everyone understands the
reason for using this technique (i.e. by using questions, you are involving the other person; by
using a negative question, you are strongly suggesting a positive answer). Positive questions,
in contrast, are usually understood as genuine requests for information or a decision, e.g.
Would it be a good idea to come back to this later? Trainees then work in pairs to rephrase
the statements. After you have played the recording, ask some volunteers to read their
questions aloud in order to make them sound as persuasive as possible.
Extension activity
Discuss with the class which statements from exercise 10 are suggestions and which are
concerns. Then elicit some more examples of suggestions and concerns from the class
(e.g. We should go home early today; It’s getting rather late) and write them on the
board. Trainees work in pairs to turn these into negative questions (e.g. Shouldn’t we go
home early? Isn’t is getting rather late?).
Answers
• Suggestions: a, b, d, f
• Concerns: c, e, g

what to focus on. Divide the class into groups of four. Allow trainees up to five minutes to
read the background information, choose their roles and plan their strategies (step 1). They
should also write the names of the other participants in the relevant spaces.
Allow up to 20 minutes for the full role play (step 2). Point out that the various conversations
can take place in parallel (e.g. speaker 1 can be talking to speaker 2 while speaker 3 is talking
to speaker 4) and that they will need to decide when to change partners, just as in real life.
Monitor carefully during the negotiations for language and for techniques from this module.
Allow around ten minutes for the follow-up discussion (steps 3 and 4), using the feedback
forms to guide the discussions. Make sure everyone understands the meaning of counter-
productive (= having the opposite effect to that which was intended).
Refer trainees to the commentary on pages 73 and 74. Check that they understand the
difference between coercing (= persuading someone forcefully to do something they are
unwilling to do) and bullying (= using your power over someone to frighten or threaten them).
If you don’t have a multiple of four trainees, the role play would still work in a group of
three (i.e. with no speaker 2: speaker 1 has to make the request of speaker 3 to speak at the
conference) or even in a group of two (i.e. with only speakers 1 and 3). However, if you have
more than a multiple of four trainees (e.g. five, nine or thirteen), it might be better to use any
spare trainees as observers, using the feedback forms to monitor the role plays.

International
Negotiations
Trainer’s Notes
8B Powers of persuasion
Quote
Trainees discuss the three questions from the quote in small groups, using real-life
examples to support their discussions. After a few minutes, open up the discussion to
include the whole class. You may need to check they understand the meaning of the
phrase resign ourselves to (= accept that we can do nothing about). Avoid confirming
trainees’ suggestions until they have also discussed the question in exercise 1.
Suggested answers
1 The more persuasive people use a series of techniques, which they either use
instinctively or have learned and practised.
2 In a way, yes, they do have an invisible power, but this can be learned.
3 No, we can learn techniques to make ourselves more persuasive. Of course, some
people will find this easier than others, but we can all improve by studying the
techniques.
include the whole class. Afterwards, trainees read the commentary on page 74 to compare it
with their ideas.
Extension activity
Note that the commentary recommends taking an online test (www.myyesscore.com).
To get the most out of this test, trainees should work alone, in order to be as honest as
possible and to get a personalised result. For this reason, it may be best to set this test as a
homework task, to be discussed in a later lesson.
Alternatively, if you have access to the Internet, speakers and a projector in your training
room, you could conduct the test with the whole class. Allow plenty of time (around half
an hour) for the test and the discussions it generates. Play Steve Martin’s introduction
once or twice, and use his questions to generate a class discussion and to check that
everyone has understood what he is saying. Trainees then work alone to write down their
answers to each question. They may discuss their answers in pairs, but should not change
their answers. Discuss the questions with the whole class to choose one answer for each
question. Then play Steve Martin’s explanation of the answers for trainees to check. They
should also keep track of how many answers they personally got right. You may need to
play these explanations more than once to make sure everyone understands. Again, use
the explanations to generate more discussion. Continue working through the questions in
the same way.
As a follow-up, encourage trainees to repeat the test alone at home to try to improve the
group’s score.

2 Trainees discuss the six Principles in pairs. After a few minutes, open up the discussion to
include the whole class, but avoid confirming their answers until after exercise 4.
Background note
Cialdini’s book, Influence: Science and Practice, is very well known, so some trainees may
be familiar with his Principles. Different names for the Principles have been used over
the years; for example, the 2007 edition of Cialdini’s book has Reciprocation instead of
Reciprocity, Social proof instead of Consensus, and Commitment and consistency instead
of Consistency. The online test also has Social proof instead of Consensus.
3 2.14 Trainees listen to the recording to take notes. Point out that they will only have time
to note down a few key words for each Principle, which they can then use later to reconstruct
the key information.
If you have an odd number of trainees, you could have a group of three, where each trainee
makes notes on four of the Principles: 1, 2, 4 and 5; 2, 3, 5 and 6; and 1, 3, 4 and 6. Note
that two trainees will be making notes on each Principle.
Extension activity
Trainees work in small groups to identify examples of some of the six Principles in action
from the first seven modules of this book. Afterwards, open up the discussion to include
the whole class. Note that not all of the Principles are illustrated in the book.
Suggested answers
• The Jingle All the Way role play in Module 2A is a good illustration of the Scarcity
Principle (i.e. both men wanted the toy even more because there was only one left).
However, it is also a very powerful example of the Principle of Consistency: both fathers
felt obliged to buy the toy because they had earlier promised it to their sons. See
chapter 3 of Cialdini’s book for an analysis of how toy manufacturers use this Principle
(along with Scarcity) to generate intense desire for their products.
• The ‘dream team’ negotiation in Module 1B emphasises the importance of Authority: by
including older and more senior members of the team, you are in a stronger position to
influence others.
• Authority is also used in the car sales negotiation (Module 7C), where the sales
representative uses his manager as the final decision-maker, based on the assumption
that no one will challenge the decision of the manager.
• All the relationship-building work in Module 2 is intended to make use of the Principle of
Liking.
• Reciprocity may seem at odds with the idea that you should always trade concessions,
rather than giving something first (see Module 7A, for example). One reason is that
experienced negotiators may be able to see through and resist obvious techniques, so
they may backfire.
4 Trainees compare notes in pairs and discuss the questions together. You could play the
recording a second time for trainees to check their notes and then feed back to the class
before checking the commentary on page 74.
5 Trainees discuss the question in pairs and then share their ideas with the class.
6 Trainees discuss the ten statements in pairs. When you go through the answers with the
class, allow some flexibility: if trainees can justify their answers, this may be just as valuable as
finding ‘the correct answer’.

Background notes
In addition to the answers given in the key on page 74, statement c could also apply
the Principle of Consensus, as it shows that other people think the product is good.
Statements d, g and i could also apply the Principle of Liking: the speaker is drawing
attention to their friendship. Statements g and j could also apply the Principle of
Consistency: in g, the potential client is more likely to remain a client after the
three-month trial; in j, the speaker is drawing attention to the buyer’s previous willingness
to buy.
7 Trainees work alone to underline the useful phrases. They compare answers in pairs before
feeding back to the class. Write the most useful phrases on the board. Elicit some other ways
of continuing each phrase.
Suggested answers
a OK, look, the thing is this. I’m really sorry, but I can only ...
b I see you’ve already been ... for some years now. Have you considered the benefits
of ...?
c Perhaps you’d like a copy of ...?
d Oh, by the way, here’s ... Hope it’s some use. Now, where were we? Oh, yes. It would
be really helpful if you could ... Would that be possible?
e OK, this is how the offer works: basically, ... So it’s sort of first come, first served.
f ... is a very popular choice. In fact, ...
g OK, well, I’m not really supposed to do this, but how about I ...?
h Well now, when I spoke to the rest of your team, they all ...
i But let me be honest with you. ... in my professional opinion, you really don’t need ...
How about ... instead?
j I like to look after my best customers. So you know I’m always going to offer you my
very best ... Have another look at what’s on the table and I think you’ll agree these are
very favourable terms.
8 2.15–2.24 Divide the class into small groups (of around three of four trainees). Play the
recordings, pausing after each scenario for trainees to discuss the best course of action. Allow
around two minutes for each discussion. Monitor carefully to make sure everyone understands
all the words. With weaker classes, you could allow them to read the audio script on pages 55
and 56.
After trainees have discussed all the scenarios, repeat the activity with the whole class,
by playing the recordings and pausing for a class discussion. Allow the discussions to go
on as long as needed, as these are very important issues. Finally, tell trainees to read the
commentary on page 74 to compare it with their ideas and to calculate their scores. Discuss
any important differences. You could also ask trainees to describe similar scenarios from their
own experience.
Extension activity
Trainees could role play some of the scenarios from exercise 8. Each role play could be
very short – two or three minutes. Afterwards, ask some pairs to perform their mini-role
plays for the class. The class can then discuss the effectiveness of the techniques.

International
Negotiations
Trainer’s Notes
8C Powers of persuasion
Quote
Trainees read the quote to find four general types of possibly unethical behaviour and two
specific examples. Make sure everyone understands words such as stretch the truth (=
exaggerate without actually lying) and budge (= move, show flexibility).
Answers
• General behaviours: lying; deceptive negotiating tactics; hiding true intentions;
stretching the truth.
• Specific examples: imposing an artificial deadline; deceptively communicating you will
not budge on an issue.
1 Trainees discuss the questions in small groups. If they are not experienced negotiators, they
could use examples from the news, or from films or books, or invent their own examples.
When they have finished, ask some volunteers to tell their stories to the class.
include the whole class. Finally, tell trainees to read the commentary on page 75 to compare
it with their ideas.
Language note
The idiom it’s all part of the game comes from sports. It means that negative aspects of a
sport (e.g. injuries or unfair decisions in football) cannot be avoided, so players need to be
prepared for them.
3 Trainees discuss the tactics in pairs and then feed back to the class. Make sure everyone
understands all the key words (e.g. cop = policeman; off limits = you may not go there). Avoid
confirming their ideas at this stage, as this would undermine exercise 4.
4 2.25–2.33 Play the recordings for trainees to make notes. They compare notes in pairs and
listen a second time if necessary before moving on to the question of how they would deal
with the tactics. Then discuss the tactics and the ways of dealing with them with the class.
Finally, trainees read the commentary on page 75. You may need to check that everyone has
understood all the words from the commentary (see Language notes below).
Language notes
• If you are antagonistic, you are deliberately trying to create a conflict.
• If you question your price, you doubt whether you are being reasonable.
• If you ridicule something, you make fun of it.
• If you recommence negotiations, you start again from the beginning.
• If you fall for a trick, you allow yourself to be the victim of it.
• A bluff is an attempt to appear strong when in fact you are in a weak position.
• If you retaliate, you fight back against the other person.

Write the following questions on the board. Trainees then work in pairs to find the answers
in the commentary.
1 In the ‘good cop–bad cop’ technique, what does the bad cop want you to do? What
does the good cop want?
2 What are the two elements to the ‘shock opener’ technique?
3 What technique can you use to check how non-negotiable an ‘off-limits position’ is?
4 What is the problem with the ‘slice the salami’ technique?
5 Why can a ‘last-minute demand’ often be successful?
6 What is the only way to deal with the ‘message from God’ technique?
7 How do negotiators add emotional pressure to the ‘once in a lifetime’ technique?
8 What is the warning about the ‘excuse my English’ technique?
9 What is the key thing to know about the ‘take it or leave it’ technique?
Answers
1 The ‘bad cop’ wants you to lose confidence in your position or lose control and reveal
information you shouldn’t. The ‘good cop’ wants you to make concessions to them to
avoid dealing with their partner.
2 They open with an offer that is very far away from what you were expecting; they
show a lot of interest in what you’re selling, so that you are taken by surprise and find
it hard to hide your disappointment.
3 Ask them what they would do if you increased your order by a factor of a hundred.
4 It means that you can never go back to renegotiate an earlier point if a later point
doesn’t go your way.
5 Because in your mind the deal is done and you don’t want to lose it now.
6 Recommence negotiations with their boss right from the beginning.
7 They try to make you worry that your boss may be annoyed when they find out just
what a great deal you rejected.
8 Don’t overuse it.
9 It is usually (but not always) a bluff.
Trainees work in pairs to think of phrases to use for the seven options for dealing with
tough tactics, which were listed in the commentary. Afterwards, discuss the best answers
with the class.
Possible answers
1 Sorry, but that’s also my final offer.
2 I understand what you’re saying, but can we please stick to the procedure we agreed.
3 So what exactly are you saying? I need to be clear on this before we go any further.
4 OK, so I need some time to think about the changes you’re suggesting. Let’s meet
back in half an hour.
5 So let’s move on to the next point. We can come back to this later.
6 Listen, I’ve been in lots of negotiations before, and this always happens just as we’re
about to agree a deal. Please treat me with a bit more respect than that.
7 I’m not going to talk about the colour of the boxes at this stage, unless you want to go
right back to the beginning. But perhaps we can look into using stickers on the boxes.
Of course that would be separate from the deal we’re discussing now.

5 2.34 Trainees work in pairs to complete the matching exercise. Then play the recording to
check. Discuss any other possible combinations with the class (e.g. sentence 1 might also go
with response d).
Extension activity
Trainees work in pairs or groups of three to test each other. One trainee reads a sentence
from the right to elicit a suitable response from their partner, whose book is closed.
These responses do not have to be exactly the same as the responses from exercise 5:
encourage trainees to improvise and invent their own responses.
6 If possible, print out game boards from the website. Divide the class into groups of around
four trainees. Go through the instructions with the class. Make sure they know that they
arrows mean ‘go forward’ or ‘go back’ the specified number of squares.
Allow around fifteen minutes for the game. If they finish early, trainees could go through the
red squares as a group to plan the best way to respond to each of them. Afterwards, discuss
the best responses with the class. Trainees can also compare their ideas with the Suggested
responses on page 76.
If you don’t have dice, you could give each group six identical squares of paper, each with a
number from one to six written on one side. The groups place the numbers in mixed up order
face down on their desk. Players take turns to close their eyes to choose a square of paper.
Note that you can use coins instead of counters, as long as each trainee in a group has a
different coin.

International
Negotiations
Trainer’s Notes
9A Handling breakdowns
Quote
Trainees read the quote to find three positive things to say about disagreements.
Answer
• They stretch our minds.
• They broaden our perspectives.
• They help us understand people and their motivations.
include the whole class. Then tell trainees to read the commentary on page 76 to compare it
with their ideas.
Language note
If somebody is disagreeable, they are unpleasant, negative, etc. It is perfectly possible to
disagree (= express a different opinion) without being disagreeable.
2 Trainees discuss the task in pairs. Then draw the scale on the board and elicit the position of
each phrase from the class. Allow room for discussion and disagreement, as this is one of the
main aims of the module.
Extension activity
Elicit from the class the most useful phrases from exercise 2, which trainees might want
to learn and use in their own negotiations (probably phrases c, d, f, g and h, the more
diplomatic phrases). Then elicit from the class some statements and questions from one
negotiator which might generate the disagreeing phrases in response, e.g. We’d like to
have the right to cancel orders without notice. Can you cut the price by another 10%?
Write these on the board. Trainees then close their books and test each other in pairs or
groups of three by reading one of the phrases from the board to elicit the most suitable
response. If you think trainees will struggle to come up with the responses from exercise
2, you could also write the first letter of each word on the board (e.g. phrase c: IAWCAT).
3 Discuss the question with the class, and then tell trainees to compare their answers with the
commentary on page 76. Trainees then work in pairs to practise saying each phrase in two
ways: as sarcastically (= saying the opposite of what you mean in order to hurt or humiliate)
as possible and as delicately as possible. Of course, we should not train our trainees to use
sarcastic intonation, but we should raise their awareness of what it sounds like, so that they
can avoid it in real life.

4 2.35 Go through the questions with the class. Then play the recording for trainees to make
notes of the answers. They discuss their answers in pairs before feeding back to the class.
Background note
The concept of ‘face’ is very important in many cultures. This concept is covered in
detail in Unit 4B of Communicating Across Cultures – see www.cambridge.org/elt/
communicatingacrosscultures.
Write the following words and phrases on the board. Check that everyone understands the
meaning of all the words. Trainees work in pairs to discuss which speaker(s) mention each
word, and what they say about it. They then listen to the recording again to check. Go
through the answers with the class.
ambiguity conflict frustrating interpret
atmosphere diplomatic generalisations read between the lines
cliché elaborate impersonal upset
Answers
• Japanese speaker: impersonal, frustrating, conflict and upset.
• French speaker: ambiguity, cliché, read between the lines and elaborate.
• Arab speaker: generalisations, diplomatic, atmosphere, conflict and interpret.
Use these questions to generate a class discussion on what the three speakers say.
• How important is the concept of ‘face’ in your culture? Do you think it is important to
avoid conflict and making somebody lose face?
• How do you feel about having to read between the lines in a negotiation? Should
everybody be more direct?
• The Arab speaker says that ‘We can cover the costs’ means the same as ‘We could cover
the costs’. Whether you agree with him/her or not, how might this statement influence
your choice of language when dealing with negotiators from different cultures?
5 2.36 Trainees work alone to transform the sentences and then compare their answers in
pairs. Play the recording and then go through the answers on page 76 with the class. You
could also elicit any rules: Which modal verbs can have this effect? Which qualifiers can be
used in which contexts?
Language notes
• We can use may, might, could and would to make negative-sounding statements
less direct. We can also use should to be diplomatic, but normally only with positive-
sounding statements (e.g. That isn’t a problem That shouldn’t be a problem.)
• We can use rather, a little and somewhat before adjectives. We can use slight and small
before nouns.
pairs. Play the recording and then go through the answers on page 76 with the class.
pairs. Play the recording and then go through the answers with the class.

Language note
Note that the adverbial phrases in exercise 6 (with respect, to be honest, etc.) usually
come at the beginning of a sentence. The restrictive phrases in exercise 7 (at this stage,
at this time, etc.) usually come at the end.
pairs. Play the recording and then go through the answers with the class. You could also elicit
any rules: Which verbs work in this way? Why does changing the tense make them less direct?
Language note
• As a general rule, English speakers often use past tenses to express their wants and
expectations to make them sound as if the idea has not just occurred, even though the
meaning is still present. For example, So next, I wanted to discuss the delivery times
implies that I want to discuss them now but I have been thinking about this for some
time. Other verbs to express wants include: plan, hope, think, wonder, expect, assume.
• Use of continuous forms suggests something that is an ongoing process and is not
something the speaker has just thought about. Using both techniques together in a
continuous past form distances the speaker from the thought and increases the sense of
being less direct, e.g. So next, we had been hoping to discuss the delivery times.
pairs. Play the recording and then go through the answers with the class. Elicit from the class
why the passive is useful for this function (because it can be considered aggressive to mention
who is responsible for causing a problem). Of course, if the problem continues, it may
become necessary to revert to the active voice in order to identify exactly who said what.
pairs. Play the recording and then go through the answers with the class.
Extension activity
Trainees work in pairs or groups of three to test each other on the techniques from
exercises 4 to 10. One trainee reads ten ‘direct’ statements from the exercises. His/Her
partner, whose book is closed, has to use the techniques from the module to make each
statement more delicate. They do not need to use exactly the same techniques as in the
exercises, but encourage them to use as many as possible. They then swap roles.
You could also repeat the activity with the whole class in teams. Read a direct statement
aloud to the class. Volunteers from each team try to make the statement more diplomatic.
Award points for the best answers.
11 Divide the class into two teams. If one team is larger than the other (e.g. two trainees
against one), the larger team should take the Player 2 role, as Player 2 has a longer path to
connect. Go through the instructions carefully with the class. Make sure they know that if
they fail to make a statement more delicate, that hexagon remains in play: either player can
choose it again. If you don’t have counters, trainees could use coins of two different values.
Alternatively, you could print off copies of the game board from the website. Each trainee has
a different coloured pen, and simply crosses off the hexagons that they take. The advantage
of using printouts is that the game can be played several times.
Allow around ten minutes for trainees to play the game once or twice. If they finish early,
they could go through the hexagons one by one to decide on the best way of making them
indirect. Afterwards, go through the best answers with the class, and tell trainees to compare
their answers with the suggested answers on page 77.
If you have a large class, it may be impractical to have only two teams. If so, divide the class
into pairs of teams of around three trainees each, and appoint an independent judge for
each pair of teams. The judge can use the suggested answers on page 77 and his/her own
judgement to decide if a player is successful or not.

International
Negotiations
Trainer’s Notes
9B Handling breakdowns
Quote
Trainees read the quote to find four -ly adverbs which describe how we should negotiate.
Briefly discuss with the class what they mean and what William Ury says about each
of them.
Answers
• Try to see the situation objectively.
• Evaluate the conflict calmly.
• Think constructively.
• Look for a mutually satisfactory way to resolve the problem.
1 Make sure everyone understands the meaning of momentum (see Background note
below). Trainees then discuss the questions in small groups. After a few minutes, open up the
discussion to include the whole class. If trainees have difficulty remembering the term BATNA,
refer them to Module 7C.
Background note
In physics, momentum is calculated as mass times velocity (speed). It is what keeps a
fast-moving heavy object (such as a bus) moving forward, even when there is no force
being applied to it. Metaphorically, a negotiation (or other process) acquires momentum
(= positive energy, power) as it makes progress, and often this momentum can be enough
to push the negotiators to finalise the deal.
Extension activity
Tell trainees to read the commentary on page 77 to identify three benefits of regular
time-outs, three reasons for ‘climbing onto the balcony’, and one situation where you
shouldn’t call a time-out. Discuss with the class whether everyone agrees with the analysis.
Answers
• Benefits of regular time-outs: you can recharge your batteries (= relax, build up energy
again); you can reflect on how things are progressing; you can confer with the other
members of your team.
• Reasons for ‘climbing onto a balcony’: you can deal with serious breakdowns without
striking back at your opponent, etc.; you can buy time to reconsider your BATNA; you
can identify the interests of both sides.
• You shouldn’t call a time-out when you are very close to finalising a deal.
2 2.42 Go through the instructions and check that everyone knows that the picture shows
a camel. Then play the recording. Trainees discuss the story and its moral in pairs and then
share their answers with the class before checking the commentary on page 77.

3 Trainees work in pairs to match the strategies with the phrases. Then check with the class.
Point out that most of the useful phrases in exercise 3 include metaphors and other
images. This makes the phrases very powerful to use in a negotiation, and also easier to
remember. Discuss with the class possible literal meanings of each expression. Then tell
trainees to close their books. Remind them of some of the literal meanings to test whether
they remember the original expressions or even the whole phrases.
Suggested answers
• ... we’re looking at this the wrong way: trying to understand an abstract piece of
modern art.
• Let’s try coming at it from a different angle: trying to shoot a target with an arrow.
• ... we seem to be stuck ...: trying to walking through mud but unable to move.
• ... let’s add something extra to the mix: cooking – adding a surprising new ingredient to
a recipe.
• ... the main sticking point ...: the thing that is causing a machine to get jammed.
• ... let’s see how we can get round that: there is a barrier blocking our way down a path.
• Would you be prepared to meet us halfway?: I live in town A; you live in town B. Let’s
meet in town C.
• How about splitting the difference ...: in maths, the difference equals my price minus
your price. Let’s split it in half, like cutting an orange.
• I think that’s as far as we can go: we’ve reached the end of the path through a forest.
... if we could find a way ...: we’re lost in a maze.
... to pay upfront: in front of you, i.e. in advance.
... what’s on the table ...: we have a lot of documents (= offers, counter-offers). on our
negotiating table.
... let’s set that to one side ...: let’s move those documents away from the middle of
the table.
Elicit two words from each phrase from exercise 3 and write these on the board (e.g.
a: looking, angle). Trainees close their books and, in pairs, try to remember the whole
phrases using only the words on the board.
4 Trainees discuss the nine strategies in pairs or small groups. After a few minutes, open up the
discussion to include the whole class. Finally, tell trainees to compare their ideas with the
commentary on pages 77 and 78, and discuss any differences with the class.
5 Trainees work in small groups to discuss the three quotes. After a few minutes, open up the
discussion to include the whole class. Finally, tell trainees to compare their ideas with the
commentary on page 78, and discuss any differences with the class.
Background note
Sun Tzu was an ancient Chinese military strategist who lived around the 5th century BC.
His treatise, The Art of War, has become popular in business and management because of
its insights into planning and strategy. See http://www.online-literature.com/suntzu.
6 2.43–2.47 Go through the instructions with the class. Then play the recordings for trainees
to take notes. They compare notes in pairs and then listen a second time if necessary to check
before feeding back to the class. Trainees then read the commentary on page 78 to compare
it with their ideas.

Extension activity
Write the following questions on the board. Trainees look at the audio script on pages 58
and 59 and read and listen again to answer the questions. They discuss their answers in
1 In the first extract, how many times did she back her opponent into a corner?
2 In the second extract, what three phrases does she use to highlight the benefits of her
plan?
3 In the third extract, in what way has the man changed his story?
4 In the fourth extract, what phrase does she use to hide her own opinion? How does
she make her boss think it’s his idea?
5 In the final extract, what phrases does the woman use to try to recover the situation?
Answers
1 Three times: So, basically, that’s your final offer?; It’s take it or leave it?; It’s not
negotiable?
2 I’m not asking you to compromise; The way I see it, you’d actually be gaining; You
can’t lose really.
3 First he said he had to stay within a budget; later he said there might be some
flexibility there.
4 She hides her opinion with double negatives: I’m not convinced we couldn’t do as well
ourselves. This is much less direct than the simpler alternative: I’m convinced we could
do as well ourselves. She uses the phrase Why didn’t I think of that? to flatter her boss
and make him think it was his idea.
5 Perhaps I was a bit hasty; Maybe we can sort something out.

internationalnegotiations) and go through them so that everyone knows what to focus on.
Divide the class into groups of three and allocate roles. Make sure they know that a different
person should monitor in each situation.
Allow at least five minutes per role play for trainees to read the role cards on pages 102 and
103 and prepare for each negotiation. In each case, the observer should read both role cards.
Monitor carefully to make sure everyone fully understands everything on their role cards.
Allow around ten minutes for each role play. Monitor carefully for language and the
effectiveness of the techniques from this module. After each role play, the observer in each
group should give feedback using the form.
Background note
Factoring (Negotiation 2) involves selling your accounts receivable (= the money that your
customers owe to you) at a discount, often to a factoring agency. See http://dictionary.
cambridge.org/dictionary/business-english/factoring?q=factoring.
If you don’t have a multiple of three trainees, the role plays will also work without an observer,
so you could have one or two groups of two.
8 Discuss the three situations in the class, including the solutions that were found and the
techniques that were used. Finally, tell trainees to read the three suggested solutions in the
commentary to exercise 7 on pages 78 and 79. Discuss the suggested solutions with the
class, including whether any of the trainees found similar solutions.

International
Negotiations
Trainer’s Notes
10 Closing the deal
Quote
Trainees read the quote to find two risks in closing a negotiation. Discuss with the class
any real-life examples they can think of where a negotiation was too long or too short.
Answer
• Losing gains you’ve acquired.
• Not acquiring all that you could have gained.
1 Make sure everyone understands the phrases loose ends to tie up (= small details which need
to be agreed on), hammered out (= discussed thoroughly and decided on) and the ink’s dried
(= the contract has become legally binding). Trainees discuss the questions in pairs. After a
few minutes, open up the discussion to include the whole class.
2 Trainees discuss the questions in pairs and then share their ideas with the class.
3 2.48 Trainees listen to the seven speakers to make notes. They discuss the questions in
pairs and then share their ideas with the class.
Background note
Due diligence is a process where a party conducts detailed research before signing a
contract. The best known example of due diligence occurs when one company is buying
another. In such cases, lawyers can spend many hours checking all the documentation to
make sure there are no unpleasant surprises once the deal has gone through.
Extension activity
Write the following questions on the board.
Which speakers talk about ...
• checking everything carefully? • being flexible?
• quick decision-making? • slow decision-making?
• negotiating tactics? • making changes to the agreement?
• contracts? • the speed of the follow-up?
• involving other people in the negotiation?
• the long-term relationship between the parties?
• bringing emotions into the negotiation?
Trainees discuss the questions in pairs, then listen again to check. Discuss answers with the
class. There may be some room for discussion with some of the answers. For example, the
British speaker mentions calling another meeting to finalise things, which implies checking
carefully; the Chinese speaker talks about marriage, which implies emotion.

10 Closing the deal
Answers
• Checking everything carefully: American (a lot of legal stuff to work through ... to
protect ourselves), German (a lot of research will be done), Russian (verify all that’s been
decided), Brazilian (do your due diligence), French (everything must be crystal clear)
• Being flexible: Chinese (you have to be flexible), British (flexible business partner)
• Quick decision-making: American (tend to push for quick decisions), German (You might
think ... decision-making would be fast in Germany.)
• Slow decision-making: Chinese (Decision-making can be slow), German (it can be quite
slow), Russian (we will sit it out forever), British (reluctant to make any snap decisions),
Brazilian (Getting a decision takes time in Brazil.)
• Negotiating tactics: Russian (Our stalling tactics are legendary.), French (When
everything is on the table, then we’ll see if we agree.)
• Making changes to the agreement after it has been agreed: Chinese (It’s a statement of
intention, not an obligation.), Brazilian (there’ll be a lot of loose ends to tie up), French
(we won’t want to be tied to a contract)
• Contracts: American (Have you ever read an American contract?), Chinese (a contract
in China is more like a marriage than a legal document), German (before we sign the
contract), French (we won’t want to be tied to a contract)
• The speed of the follow-up: American (we’re much slower to implement), German
(Once we sign, however, we spring into action.)
• Involving other people in the negotiation: Chinese (There is often state involvement.),
Brazilian (give everyone a chance to express their opinion)
• The long-term relationship between the parties: Chinese (to stay loyal to our partner
‘for better or worse’), British (a fairly trustworthy and flexible business partner)
• Bringing emotions into the negotiation: Russian (Russians are big on emotional
appeals.), Brazilian (People may get quite excited in the meeting)
4 2.49 Trainees work alone to complete the sentences and then check in pairs. Play the
recording for them to check their answers and then go through the answers with the class.
Background note
A TNA is a Training Needs Analysis (or assessment), i.e. the research that takes place to
establish the objectives of a training course or programme.
Extension activity
Trainees work in pairs to identify all the main verb forms (tenses) used in the extracts. Then
discuss the answers with the class.
Answers
• The most common verb form is the present perfect: we’ve decided; we’ve settled; we
haven’t talked. The present perfect is used to focus on the results of the negotiation,
rather than the time each thing happened. Past simple is also possible in these cases,
and is used once: we agreed.
• The negotiator uses will for almost all the future references: we’ll take care; you’ll
supply; we’ll obviously need; we’ll fix; we’ll have to; we’ll report back; we’ll need.
• There is also one use of future perfect (will have done), looking back in time at the
things achieved before a point in the future: By the time of our next meeting we’ll have
worked out ...
• A few verbs with would or in the present simple are followed by to-infinitives, with
a future meaning: You’d like to go ahead; we still need to work out; remains to be
clarified; you’d like to add.

10 Closing the deal
5 2.50–2.51 Trainees work in pairs to use the phrases from exercise 4 to summarise the
deals. They could each take one deal or they could take alternate lines. Make sure that
everyone knows that AOB stands for ‘any other business’ (i.e. Is there anything else that we
need to discuss?). Play the recordings for trainees to compare with their versions. Afterwards,
discuss any differences with the class.
If you have an odd number of trainees, you will need to have one group of three, where the
third member takes the first three lines from deal 1 and the last three from deal 2.
Extension activity
Trainees repeat exercise 5 without looking back at the useful language in exercise 4.
Quote
Trainees read the quote to identify the main advice. You can then discuss with the class
whether they agree with the advice, and how important it is. You could also discuss what
trainees understand by the term ‘Power Negotiator’.
Answers
Make others feel that they won. See some of the articles on Roger Dawson’s website to find
out what he means by ‘Power Negotiating’: http://www.rdawson.com/articles.html. One
of his key points is that ‘you will never make money faster than when you are negotiating’.
6 2.52 Trainees work in pairs of groups of three to take turns to emphasise one benefit. Then
elicit from the class a range of ways of emphasising each benefit. Finally, play the recording
for trainees to compare it with their ideas.
Extension activity
Trainees repeat the activity, this time with the useful phrases covered, so that they have to
try to remember as many of the phrases as possible.
Quote
Trainees read the quote to find which key negotiating concept it relates to.
Suggested answer
BATNA (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement – if there is no alternative then you
must be prepared to walk away from the deal)
7 2.53 Make sure everyone understands the meaning of clinch the deal (= close or finalise
the agreement) and upbeat (= positive, optimistic). Trainees then work in pairs to read one or
both of the closes in an upbeat way. Play the recording for trainees to compare it with their
versions. Finally, ask some volunteers to read their closes aloud.
Extension activity
Trainees close their books. Play the recording again, pausing in the middle of each
sentence to elicit from the class how the close continues (e.g. Well, ladies / and
gentlemen. I think that’s about as / far as we can go). Trainees can repeat the activity in
pairs, with one trainee reading the beginning of a sentence for their partner to finish.
Final negotiation activity

The full and final negotiation activity, The East Africa Tender, can be found online in the
Resources section at www.cambridge.org/elt/internationalnegotiations. You can download the
activity for your trainees, along with a feedback form and full Trainer’s notes.


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Building relationships Getting down to business

11 Distribute the feedback forms (see page 110 and www.cambridge.org/elt/

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6 Distribute the feedback forms (see page 110 and www.cambridge.org/elt/

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6 Go through the answers to exercises 4 and 5 with the class.

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10 Distribute the feedback forms (see page 110 and www.cambridge.org/elt/

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Speakers 1 and 2 Speakers 3 and 4

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Question word Auxiliary verb Subject Main verb Rest of question

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Possible answers (with explanations in brackets)

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9 Distribute the feedback forms (see page 110 and www.cambridge.org/elt/

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3 Trainees discuss each other’s summaries.

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11 Distribute the feedback forms (see page 111 and www.cambridge.org/elt/

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6 Distribute the feedback forms (see page 111 and www.cambridge.org/elt/

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